All's Fair in Love and Lies
by Space Cadet 717
Summary: Just because the whole thing is one accident after the next doesn't mean it's not a success. //Gill x Angela// \\Longfic\\ //Please excuse the epic fail of a title.//
1. Prologue

**Alright, here's my very first longfic! Please don't be too harsh—I'm just starting out, and plus this couple is SO FRICKIN HARD! They're just so _normal—_at least with Claire and Skye there was a forbidden love factor, but with Angela and Gill, it's just sort of "Boy meets girl, boy loves girl, boy and girl get married. The end." Ugh!**

**Whoops, sorta got into a rant there. Sorry.**

**Back to the happy mood! Yaaay! Smiles all around! Please enjoy the story! And now for the super-emo prologue...**

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All's Fair in Love and Lies

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Prologue

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It was ironic, really, when I thought about it.

One minute, I had all of my hopes and dreams cradled in the palm of my hand, and the next I realized that they had never even been anywhere within my reach. Hell, I didn't even know where they were. Everything I had held dear for the past few months was a footprint on the beach that had been washed away long ago. No, not even that—a footprint that would have been left, if only I had had enough sense to walk the couple of steps toward the water's edge. But I didn't. I just stared at where it would be and tricked myself into believing that it was already there.

But the true irony came from this: I had never even planned this. If not for a harebrained mistake on my part, nothing would have ever happened. I would still be laughing and shrieking with joy on this big, stupid roller-coaster ride that some people call life. But when you really look at it, you'll see that the seat belts are broken and we're all gonna fly off the track at some point. I guess it just happened to me quicker than others, because I made the mistake of thinking that someone was actually gonna catch me before I land face-down on the asphalt ground.

And what was this harebrained mistake, you ask? The one that sent me plummeting down to Earth? Well, one day I woke up and decided that I would be a ditzy teenager, the kind who wears tons of makeup and believes everything she hears. For some reason I actually thought it was a good idea to ignore the age-old saying "If it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true!" I guess I just became so drunk on the thought of requited love that I threw caution to the wind and gambled with a high-risk, high-reward type of thing. And guess what? The spinner landed on "high-risk."

And the worst part is, I can't even hate the person who did this to me. Even though I desperately want to blame someone, the only person who deserves a finger pointed is me, and me alone. Because I was the one who built up my feelings, despite the obvious clues. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't remember thinking at all. But it was just so _fun_ when it began that I never considered what it would be like when it ended.

Presently I am curled up at the base of a certain tree, one that holds so many fond memories of mine. Now I just want to chop it down. Perhaps I could contact Luke or Bo about it? Surely they wouldn't care about one measly little maple. After all, it holds no importance to anyone, not to me (at least that's what I tell myself), and certainly not to _him_.

With my body pressed against its coarse roots, I attempt a gasp for breath, but it comes out like a drunken hiccup. Oh well, just one more thing that's gone wrong. Even though I don't have sufficient air in my lungs yet, I release another wave of tears and sob into the darkened, soaking bark.

_It's not fair._

_It's not fair._

_It's not fair._

_It's not fair..._

Briefly I wondered what I must look like. If someone was to walk up to me right now, they would see a sniveling, hideous wreck huddled at the base of a goddamn tree, hugging herself and muttering wetly like there's nothing else to do in the world but cry. They would think that I was a creature, a freak. But right now I didn't care.

_It's not fair._

That's not true. Nothing is true anymore.

_It's not _fair_!_

Have you forgotten? All's fair in love and lies.

**XXX**

**So...yeah. Sorry about the cheesy last line. I couldn't think of how to end it, so I was like, "What the hey. Use the title."**

**Mild spoiler warning:**** Just so you know, this story WILL have a happy ending. I hate it when the finale leaves a character in the state that I just described above...it's so damn depressing! But doing something like this for a prologue is like a cliffhanger of sorts, so it's all good here.**

**Aaaanyway, I'll try to update this consistently, but unfortunately I can't make any promises. School has me really busy, since the teachers love to pile on the homework like there's no damn tomorrow. Ugh. And plus, Halloween is tomorrow (well, it'll be today at least, or even in the past already, by the time you read this), and in the few days/week or two after we go trick-or-treating (you are NEVER too old for trick-or-treating), my friends love to have parties and stuff. And then, once that's all over, we have Thanksgiving and Christmas, plus a ton of my family members have birthdays around this time...TOO MUCH STUFF! But, despite that, I've already got the whole story planned out for this, so it shouldn't be too hard to just slap it onto a paper and upload it.**

**Okay, that's it. Bye-bye for now!**


	2. Chapter One

**Okay, let's hear it for my horrible writing style! *halfhearted claps* Yes, I know I use too many words, my descriptions never get the point across, and every attempt at foreshadowing I do is an epic fail. But even still, I'm writing a longfic, so I'm forced to shove all this down your throats. I'm going to do my best with this chapter to at least get you interested.**

**Why am I telling you this? Because this is the introduction chapter, and this has always been my weakest point, second only to the space-fillers. But _please_ just bear with me...I know that I've already gotten you a little unwilling just by this disheartening author's note. I kind of sound like a desperate freak. But I'd rather be straightforward and say that I'm not good rather than thinking that I'm excellent and, in reality, sucking out loud. So, just hold your breath and cross your fingers, because this first chapter will hopefully be short and sweet. Then I'll actually introduce the plot and stuff, and things may actually get interesting. Good luck!**

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All's Fair in Love and Lies

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Chapter One

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"Honestly, Angela, you did much better than I ever expected you to," Craig told me with his signature cocky smile on his face. "I was surprised; you only screwed up a couple hundred times. I was sure that the numbers would at least go in the quadruple-digits."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Well, the wimp made it through the year after all, so NYA!"

"I don't suppose you have a resolution? 'Cause you really need one."

"I resolve to show you up more often!"

"Whoa, try aiming a little lower. Like, resolving to come in second to me at least once in the next ten years. Although I think that may still be a little too high..."

"You _wish_!" I swatted his arm with a playfully scornful countenance. "I'm gonna raise Bessy to be the best cow in the world—and then buy even _more_ animals, and all of my crops will be top-quality! So _there._" I heard Anissa laugh, so I whirled around and feigned a look of anger. "What, you think this is funny? I'm telling the truth!"

She nodded, her eyes glittering with mirth. "That's right, Angela, I know. By the end of the next year you'll be the best rancher on the island, despite whatever my dad says."

Craig gave a little "humph," and I grinned and crossed my arms triumphantly. "That's right! And soon Anissa will be a nurse with her beloved Jin. That should be _your_ resolution."

Anissa's laughter ended sharply with a small choking noise, and her face turned red. "You won't give that up, will you?" she said weakly.

"He's already asked you to every romantic festival all year round, so no, I won't give it up until you two are happily married." I gave her a supportive smile. "Because that's what friends are for, remember?"

"At least Jin will be a better influence for my daughter than you are," Craig teased, and I turned to stick my tongue out again.

The sound of footsteps ended the joke, and we all turned to face Ruth, who was dusting the powdery snow off of her long green dress as she walked up to us. "Alright, Craig, Anissa, it's time to go home now," she announced in a voice that was almost like a sigh. "I'm getting another headache...it's so late, and I'm tired. Let's go; when we wake up, it'll still be the new year."

And just like that, I was alone again, stuck just waving goodbye as they left. I rolled my eyes in response to Ruth's constant party-ending headaches, and then turned on my heel to head towards the beach. Several families were dispersing from the area, just like Anissa's; Chloe, for example, who just a few hours ago had been so excitedly informing _everyone_ that it was a new year now, had long since trekked back home to sleep. And indeed it was very late, several hours past the ever-famous countdown, so I had no right to blame anyone for their lack of diligence.

Which meant that there was more than enough space on the beach for me. I lay down on the sand and made a little snow angel out of mild boredom. Above me, the stars were twinkling brightly, enjoying their last few minutes of darkness before the sun began to rise.

My mind wandered. I thought about my past year living here. When I had first arrived, I was a stranger. And yet everyone had graciously welcomed me here (although it had taken me a while to figure out that Craig was actually being playful) as if I was a lifetime resident. I had been overwhelmed and shy, unused to such friendliness because of my old city home. But as other newcomers began to arrive, and everyone treated them with the same kindness and respect, I realized that this was the best home I could ever wish for. To name a few, I thought about Anissa, who was so much like a big sister to me; about Chase, whose oftentimes sarcastic sense of humor proved to be more fun than provoking; about Candace, the painfully shy girl whom I was now such good friends with—the list goes on and on!

With all of these wonderful people in this wonderful town, what was there to wish for? To state in my new year's resolution? Despite what I had said to Craig earlier, a prosperous farm didn't seem to be the kind of thing I would promise myself to do in my second year on Waffle Island.

I felt a warmth on my face, and I opened my eyes to see what I had been waiting for. There it was, painted brilliantly on the ocean ahead of me: the first sunrise. For some reason this made my heart flutter for a fleeting moment, and I suddenly knew the answer to my question.

"This year," I murmured aloud. "I am going to fall in love."

I said it as a statement—not a wish—because, although I didn't know it at the time, this was among the truest things I had ever said in my life.

**XXX**

**Ugh, painful, painful! But it's over now, so we can all relax. Luckily, the next chapter will be when I bring Gill into play, so things should hopefully pick up from here. Stay tuned.**


	3. Chapter Two

***Pulls brim of hat down over face* Man, I am _so_ embarrassed right now. As you can quite obviously tell, I was having a total emo moment while writing the last chapter (I was under a lot of stress! My little brother was hosting the birthday party from hell!!! UGH!). I can't lie; I don't exactly consider myself the best author out there. But, even so, normally I don't go so far as to think that I'm utterly _horrible_ and end up complaining so...loudly... Well, I'm _extremely_ sorry for whining so much! I'm promising both myself and you that it won't happen again! -_-**

**That said, I want to thank you all for your great support in the reviews! I was really glad with how sincere you seemed. Not to sound corny or anything, but it really inspired me to do my best...and...stuff like that. Haha. So, thanks a bunch!**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

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Chapter Two

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Yikes! COLD!

With my arms above my head, I dashed as quickly as I could towards the next overhang. Despite my attempts to seek refuge in every canopy I could find, I was still sopping wet from all the awful rain. My hair was plastered against my head and my clothes were completely soaked all the way through. When I finally stumbled onto the doorstep of the Tailor Shop, I couldn't help but let out a loud sigh of relief.

The bell rang as I stepped in. "Hey, I don't suppose I could, like, borrow an extra strip of fabric or something?"

A very bored-looking Luna glanced over at me and giggled. "You sure look like you need it," she commented. She turned her head and, without getting up from the table she was sitting on, called, "Hey, Candace! Angela's here and she needs a towel!"

There was a small pause, then a shuffling sound from the other room, and I heard Candace's small voice saying, "C-coming...!" Moments later, the slender seamstress appeared from the back doorway with a pink bath towel clutched in her ever-shaking hands.

"Thanks, I appreciate it!" I said. I used the gift to crudely dry off my hair, which appeared almost black from the wetness. Then, with the towel still on my head, I continued, "Can you believe this weather? It was so nice at New Year's and now it's all dreary! It's like the Goddess is trying to spite us or something. 'You're not allowed to be happy during the New Year's Festival! Here's a bunch of rain to bring you down!'"

Candace smiled softly at my rant, in contrast to her sister, who sneered quietly_. _Luna never seemed to find anything I did amusing when I actually intended to be.

"If you hate the r-rain so much...why do you always come out in it?" Candace asked curiously.

"I have errands!"

"What errands? All you ever do is go around and talk to people," Luna pointed out.

"Those _are_ my errands. I have to talk to all my friends"—I grinned comically—"because I'm a very lovable person! Heehee."

"That's what a _phone_ is for."

"B-but...I like it when you come," Candace interrupted on my defense. She smiled shyly. "So...th-thank you."

"You're very welcome, m'lady," I said, bowing deeply. The towel dropped of my head and landed promptly on the floor, which made me giggle.

"Well...umm..."—Candace pulled at her sleeves nervously, as she so often did when the duty fell upon her to change the subject—"Would you...like some tea? I could make some..."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Nah. Thanks a lot, though. But I just came by to give you these." I reached into my brown purse and brandished a small jar of milk that I'd gotten from Bessy this morning. On rainy days, I was known to pass out these little gifts to several of my friends to cheer them up.

Candace blushed and smiled. "Oh, r-really? Thank you very much...!"

"Wow, you're always so happy, Candace. It's just _milk_," Luna said saucily. A sharp glare from me silenced her before the blue-haired wallflower could take too much offense, though.

"Well, I'll see you around then!" I said cheerfully, and opened the door to the gloomy outside once again.

"O-okay!" Candace said, holding the jar like it was a treasure. "Please, um, come by again...s-sometime!"

I smiled and waved as I exited. However, as soon as I left, I instantly wished that I had never done so, because the freezing rain sent a chill straight to my bones. With a moan I began to dart around once again. As much as I hated to admit it, Luna was partially right. Phones were invented for a reason. I sighed.

My next destination was the Town Hall, where I would make my delivery to my friend Elli, the receptionist. After that, I would try to run all the way to Souffle Farm, and give the remainder of my milk to Anissa's family. (Since I presently had only one cow, that was all I could manage for now.) But right this moment, I was racing up the steps towards Waffle Town Square, completely unprotected from the downpour, and absolutely miserable.

Insert extreme bad luck here.

The rain had made a small river through the square, and the dirt—or rather, mud—from the surrounding flowerbeds was running everywhere underfoot. I suppose I should have guessed, knowing how klutzy I could be sometimes, but it probably would have been a shock even if I was expecting it. Lucky, lucky little me slipped on the mud. What a surprise.

The first part ended quickly enough. After just a few seconds, I came to a stop on the ground. By now I was so wet that I might as well just jump in the ocean—it wouldn't make any difference. And I didn't even need to check to know that my precious milk had been shattered. Inside my bag. Yay.

Now here comes the really painful part. I hoisted myself into a sitting position and wiped most of the dirt off my face, then peered through my messy bangs and see none other than Waffle Town's self-proclaimed king standing right in front of me. I was suddenly aware of everything that had just gone wrong with my appearance.

He raised one blond eyebrow. "Very graceful."

Well, that was just twisting the knife.

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment, but I quickly shook it away and replaced it with an indignant scowl. "Well, aren't you going to help me up?" I said, holding out my hand expectantly. I saw his mouth twitch, just a bit disgustedly, but he obliged nevertheless. Once I was on my feet, I commented, "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I never said it would be," Gill remarked.

"You were thinking it. Hey, don't roll your eyes at me!"

He sighed like he was speaking to an incompetent child. And, in his eyes, he probably was. "Come on, let's just get inside," he said flatly. He held out his umbrella and let me walk with him until we reached the town hall.

"Thank you," I said sincerely, and took a step towards the bathroom.

"Hey, Angela?"

"Yeah?"

"Invest in a raincoat, okay?" And then he left.

**XXX**

**Alright. Confidence, confidence...hmm... How about, "I _know_ you liked this chapter! :D"**

**...no. x_o**

**So, sorry about the delay and the shortness. I'm having a major writer's block. Like I said, introductions aren't exactly my forte... Well, anyway, see you next time! And no, I won't be getting all depressed again. I learned my lesson. Blarg.**


	4. Chapter Three

**So... Enjoy! (xD Not much to say...)**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

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Chapter Three

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"Aaaangelaaaa~!"

I jumped at the sound of my name being called. Before I had time to turn, though, Renee was already by my side. I smiled in welcome and greeted, "Hey there. Want something?"

"I have two things to say!" she announced, holding up two fingers. "First, Mom told me you just bought a sheep. Named her Missy. **((A/N: Because "Rapunzel" is a BAD name...))** How is she? Fun?"

"Oh, right," I said. "Yeah. She's so cute and fuzzy! Can you tell your parents I said thanks again...and that I may need some tips for sheep care?"

"That's what I'm for, Angie, remember? It's my excuse to pay you a visit!"

"Ah, right, I remember now." I laughed. "What's the second thing?"

Renee rocked back and forth on her feet as she spoke. "Yeah... Elli wants to know why you've been avoiding her. Are you mad at her or something?"

"Elli? Me, mad? I'm not avoiding her. What makes you—or her—think that?"

"She told me you haven't been coming to visit her at work so much lately," explained Renee.

"Oh..."

She eyed me curiously as my face fell. "Something wrong?" She didn't wait for me to respond. "Wait, wait! Lemme guess. You're not mad at Elli, but you _are_ avoiding someone who works with her. Wait...don't tell me! Don't tell me! ...It's _Gill_, isn't it?" She grinned and awaited my approval.

I was silent for a split second with shock. Talk about accuracy. "That's kinda creepy. You shouldn't read minds like that. They'll sell you to the circus."

"Yaaay! I was right!" She threw her hands in the air and spun around once with triumph.

It was true. Ever since that rainy day, which was now over a week ago, I'd been ducking away from all chances to see the mayor's prissy son. I was waiting until I'd at least decided whether I should actually "invest in a raincoat" or not before I faced him again. On one hand, he had a point; a raincoat would be a big help for someone like me, and I'd been planning on getting one sooner or later anyway. But on the other, giving into him would pretty much be the behavioral equivalent of setting all of my own crops on fire. Decisions, decisions.

Presently Renee was laughing at me. "Are you afraid of an innocent little office boy, Angela?" she taunted.

"He's not little, and he's certainly not innocent..."

"But you're still _afraid_ of him."

"I'm not _afraid_ of him!" I snapped. "He just hates me! And every time I see him I always end up doing something embarrassing!"

"You're right. Like that time, when you first met, you dropped his clipboard and all his papers went everywhere. Well, that was his fault for letting you hold it for a second..."

"Ha, ha, very funny, Renee."

"Or that time you were horseback riding with Kathy, and you lost control of your horse."

"You're not helping!"

"Or that time..."

"SHUT UP!"

She almost fell over laughing, and all I could do was stand there and give her an evil look. "Where do you hear these things, anyway?" I demanded.

"Luke. He knows everything," she said.

"I should have guessed. That guy is really a gossipy teenage girl at heart."

"He's gonna know that you said that," she warned me jokingly.

"Yeah, whatever." I shrugged.

"Well, back to the subject—"

"Oh, come on!"

"Sorry, Ange. Hehehe." She smirked. "Buuuut, it's obvious, you have the most severe case of Gill-phobia I've ever seen in my life. So you've gotta go face him head on!"

"The most severe case of _what_?" I half-cried. "You're so crazy, Renee. And besides, I don't even know where he is right now."

"That's an easy one," she said, and pointed over my shoulder. "He's over by the church right now! See?"

I turned around and jumped right out of my skin. Sure enough, there he was. Figures. Mercifully, though, he was out of earshot. But my luck ran out as I faced Renee again and discovered, to my horror, that she was cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Renee—no!!"

Too late. "HEY, GILL! OVER HERE!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs.

At the same time that Gill's distant figure curiously faced the sound, I felt all the blood drain from my face. "R-Renee...you evil, cruel, scheming little..."

"Come on, Angie, go get 'im!" She shoved me forward and ran off with a cackle.

In just a few short, short, short seconds, Gill had made his way to the bottom of the hill where I was fearfully waiting. _I'm going to get you for this, Renee, _I fumed furiously, and then forced my erratic breathing down.

"Is there something you need?" he asked calmly. Blissfully oblivious.

_I want you to wipe that "great, I'm talking to an idiot" look off your face._

"Uhhhm..." My mind was drawing a blank. "Well... Great weather today!" _Genius, Angela, pure genius._

He stared at me for several seconds. Probably trying to figure out whether I was setting him up for something or if I was really that stupid. Finally, "...Yeah...it's nice..."

I wanted to claw my own eyes out. "Yup... Aaand...it's supposed to be like this for a while...so, that's good...I guess..." Why was I still talking?

"Is this...going anywhere?"

"Um... No. Not really."

"Right." There was a brief, _extremely_ uncomfortable silence, and then he added, "So...I should leave, then?"

"Y-yeah. Sure."

He turned to leave, but suddenly my hysteria vanished for a split second, and I grabbed his arm to stop him. "Wait. Hang on."

"What?"

"Is there something wrong?"

He gave me a very confused look. "...No," he said at last. "Why do you ask?"

"You just...you looked stressed," I observed shyly. This was actually the truth. His fists were clenched and his skin even paler than usual, but it had taken the abnormal briskness of his turn for me to notice. Evidently, something was making him lose his ultimate cool.

"I'm not," he said unconvincingly, and pulled his sleeve from my grip.

"Yes you are," I told him. "Come on. I'm psychic about these things. What happened?"

"Nothing happened!"

"_Something_ happened," I repeated. "Otherwise you wouldn't raise your voice like that!"

He sneered, but realized that he'd been caught. "Well, I certainly don't need any help from _you_."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"It _means,_" he said harshly, "that I'm not expecting someone as idiotic as you to solve any of my problems!"

_Ouch._

"Well sor_ry_ for trying to help!" I cried furiously, and then, without waiting for him to respond, whirled around and stormed away. But, despite my feigned anger, I couldn't help but feel a bit confused—if someone as composed as him was being so blunt all of a sudden, then something was _definitely_ wrong in his perfect little world.

And that was big news when it came to Gill.

---

When I found Renee again, I greeted her with a smack.

"OW!" she whined, holding the back of her head in pain. She faced her attacker and scowled. "What was that for?"

"You planned this," I accused.

"Planned what?"

"Well, what are the chances that you just _happen_ to push me forward on the one day that Gill is even crankier than usual? Yes, as it turns out, it _is_ possible. Now, come on Renee, tell me what I ever did to deserve this!"

"It was for your own good," she sniffed.

"As if being called idiotic is good for me."

Her eyes widened. "Really? He said that to you?"

"I told you. He's in a _really_ bad mood." I sighed and sat down on the fence that surrounded her family's field. "I wonder why he's so upset, though. I've never seen him like this before."

"Wow," Renee giggled. "Just a few minutes ago you were afraid of Gill, and now you're worried about him! Isn't that sweet?

"Someone ought to lock you up in a cellar, Renee. At least until you come to your senses."

She smiled and innocently twirled a lock of her brown hair around her finger. "Angela, if you're really _worried_ about him, then why don't you just give him a hand?"

"I tried, but he snapped at me. And it's none of my business anyway."

"You should make it your business, in that case!"

"It's thinking like that which got him to hate me in the first place."

"Come on. He doesn't actually _hate_ you. He's just..." She paused, looking for the right word. "...unimpressed with you. Gill looks down on people that don't seem as mature as he thinks he is."

"Well, in that case, he'll never, ever, ever like me. At all." I sighed heavily and crossed my arms. "I'm a farm girl, and he's... He's an uptight, workaholic jerk, that's what he is! Ugh."

I waited for her to respond, but she remained silent. On the contrary, she seemed to be under some sort of shock. Her lips parted and she grimaced. I nearly died when realization hit me.

"H-he's right behind me, isn't he?!"

"Oh, no, no, don't worry," she assured me, waving her hand in dismissal.

I glanced over my shoulder, just to make sure, and relaxed. "Then, what is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I didn't feed my animals today!" she shrieked. "You just reminded me! I have to do that before Gray gets _reeeeeeally _angry with me!!" She leaped off of the fence, grabbed her tool bag, and bolted with only a single raised hand as a goodbye.

"'Before Gray gets angry with me'?" I called after her. "Who's the one that's afraid of an innocent little boy now, eh?!"

**XXX**

**Betcha can guess what has Gill so freaked out. :P (But for those of you who don't play ToT, you'll have to wait 'til the next chapter to see! Heehee.)**

**Hmmm this chapter didn't really come out like I intended... My transitions were a little too quick and the whole thing was shorter than I wanted it to be... Maybe I used too much dialog or something...? Oh well. I'm too lazy to fix it up, so you're just gonna have to deal with it. And plus I was kind of in a rush to upload the next chapter before there was too long of a delay... No, definitely not my best work...**

**Well, never mind that. I'll see you next time~! :)**


	5. Chapter Four

**Oops, sorry for the brief delay. I've had this chapter in my head for so long that I sorta forgot I hadn't uploaded it yet. Well, here it is now! Hope you like it. It was pretty...amusing...to write.**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

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Chapter Four

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I sauntered through the Ganache Mine District, swinging my necklace around my finger nonchalantly. I'd never really been one to wear a ton of jewelry, and it had been starting to chafe my neck; but I would hate to see this gift from Kathy to go to waste, so it was only natural that I would use it as a toy. Or a weapon.

"Whoops!" One small miscalculation sent the pendant flying off my finger and out of my sight, behind me. Next, I heard someone cry "OW!", and I turned around guiltily to see who I'd just attacked.

Luke was rubbing his bandanna-clad head. "Right in the _forehead_, Angela!" he complained. "Did you _aim_ or somethin'?"

"Sorry!"

He stooped down to pick up the necklace, and, just when I was expecting him to hand it to me, chucked it right at my face. "OW! What was that for?!"

"An eye for an eye," he said, shrugging. "You nail me in the forehead, I nail you in the forehead. So _ha_."

I stuck my tongue out at him, then laughed. "Well, fair is fair," I agreed, and stashed the lethal device safely in my pocket. "How've you been?"

"Boooooored," he said in a drawling voice. He casually dusted off his jeans and came forward to walk beside me. "It's been so long since you last came up here. What have you been doing? I mean, if your farm is too much work, maybe you should grow less crops."

"That's a very Luke-ish thing to say," I told him. "'If you can't do anything you want at any time, it means you have too much work and you should slack off way more often.' Nice." He shrugged, and I went on: "And besides, Craig and I decide to have a competition pretty much every other week. If I don't keep my ranch as prosperous as I can, he'll grind me into the dust!"

"That doesn't sound pretty," he remarked.

"It's not." However, I was unable to resist smiling. "But, anyway, what's new with you?"

"Nothing much," reported Luke. "Just the usual. Lately I've been going around trying to get news from people. It's lots of fun, especially since, apparently, I'm really a gossipy teenage girl at heart."

I stopped walking and and stared at him, my mouth agape. "What the—how did you—?! ...You know what, never mind. I don't even wanna know." He grinned deviously at me.

We continued walking and talking for a while after that. I was almost surprised that he hadn't already heard about Gill's attitude earlier today, so it felt refreshing to actually tell _him_ something for once. But after that, for the most part, all I could do was listen as he chattered away about the latest goings-on of the island. Renee hadn't been exaggerating: Luke really did know everything.

Presently we were wandering through Praline Forest, though not too deep, of course. Luke was talking about how Anissa had passed out due to fatigue the other day. She was fine, luckily, and he thinks that there were even some sparks flying in between her and Jin when she woke up in the HOLY COW WHAT IS THAT?!

"What?" I asked, startled.

"See?" he said delightedly, pointing at something in front of us.

"Oh look...a tree!" I feigned a look of shock. "And look, another tree! And another...and another..."

"You have no eyes," he sighed. He made a dramatic gesture at the one he was pointing at. "Can't you see? It's a maple tree."

"So?"

"So, most of the trees in this forest are pines."

"...So?"

"Arrrg," he sighed as if this was something that didn't need explanation. "If we find something weird like this, it means something weird's gonna happen!" His eyes started to shine. "Won't that be cool? And fun? And awesome?"

I giggled. "Your imagination is going to make your head explode if you're not careful, Luke."

He waved me off and began to search meaningfully around the maple. He looked like a little kid who was going on a treasure hunt. A few minutes passed and, just as I was about to suggest that we get on with our lives, he suddenly burst into laughter.

I was almost afraid to ask. "What happened? Did you find something?" Then I made a little "eep" noise as he literally fell over.

It took him several seconds to respond. "I...I CAN'T BELIEVE...OH MAN! THIS IS...P-PRICELESS! _PRICELESS_!!AHAHAHAHA!!!"

I stared at him and waited patiently for the next ten minutes or so. Finally, he heaved a large, gleeful sigh and lay down on his back. "Finished yet?" I asked.

"Yup. For now," he replied.

"Do I really need to ask? Or does my question go without saying?"

He grinned from ear to ear and hauled himself up. "I knew I would find _something_ cool, but I never thought I'd get _this_ lucky!" he chortled. Slowly, as if he was excavating gold, he lifted up a book that was hidden behind a root. It was average-sized, average thickness, with a navy blue hardcover and little silver clasp on the side. Nothing special.

"Yeah?" I shrugged. "It's a book. Big deal."

"It's a _diary_," snickered Luke. "And guess whose it is?" Without waiting for me to respond, he flipped it over to the back side and revealed, engraved in small letters in the bottom left corner, the name _Gill Hamilton_.

Something dropped. I'm not sure whether it was my jaw, my insides, or both, but _something_ of mine went straight to the Earth's core. It took me almost as long as Luke's laughing fit had lasted for me to find my voice again. "W-w-what the?! I-is this...?!"

Luke beamed.

I shook my head to clear it. "N-no wonder he was so shaken up before!" I cried. "The poor guy, this must be killing him!"

"I bet it is," said Luke, almost proudly. "He probably dropped it when he came here to talk business with my dad yesterday. AHAHA! This is soooo _great_!"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "We have to get this back to him _right now_!"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Are you kidding me?"

"You're not thinking..."

"_Duh_." He made a face. "Come on, don't you wonder what he thinks of you?"

"I know _exactly_ what he thinks of me, and I also happen to know that he'll think of me even _worse _if I don't leave his stuff alone!" Honestly, right this moment, I felt about as scared as Gill would probably be.

"Don't be so uptight..."

"Arg! Just give me the book!" I cried, and tried to make a grab at it. Luke wrenched his hand out of my reach and started to laugh, but I didn't waste a single second before pouncing on him.

"OUCH! Quit it, Ange!"

"Grrrrr!" was all I said in response. Finally, I managed to wrestle the journal out of Luke's grip, and stood up. "How immature, Luke! This is private!"

"You sound just like _him_," he griped, then sat up and dusted himself off. "Seriously, though. All Gill's ever done is insult you and now you really wanna defend him like this?"

"Because it's the right thing to—oh, who am I kidding." I sighed. "You have a point, Luke—"

"Told'ja!"

"—_but_," I continued firmly, "it still doesn't feel right."

"Feels right to me," he remarked flatly.

"But I'm not as—" I paused to find the right word. "—_carefree_ as you, Luke. I have moral standards!"

"So does everyone," he told me. "But there's a difference between being 'moral' and, you know, forgetting to live a little. Why don't you take some time for yourself every once in a while?"

"You know, I _could_ argue that you take too much time for yourself," I said.

"Sure, you _could_," he pressed on. "But what are you actually gonna do?"

Grrr. Luke is so evil.

I sighed and took a couple of seconds to decide. I could feel my thumb fidgeting against the poor little clasp like a shark circling its prey. Seeing this, Luke smiled eagerly and waited for me to make my final decision.

"I don't know..."

"Just let me _see_ it," he said, holding out his hands.

"I—urrrrg!" I threw my hands in the air with exasperation. "No! No, no, no! I don't care if I _am_ being uptight, I refuse to let myself do something like this! Even if Gill is mean sometimes, he doesn't deserve having all his secrets found out by the chick he hates and the local unofficial news reporter! ARG!"

"..._Please_?"

"You wanna see it? Here, see it!" I took the diary and bapped him right on the top of the head with it. **((A/N: "Bapped" isn't actually a real word, but it should be! xD))**

"Ow!" He rubbed his scalp. "Two facial assaults and even a full-on tackle in one day. You're so cold, Angela."

"That was _so_ not your face."

"It counts," he pouted. Then he crossed his arms and added, "Fine, if you wanna be all goody-goody, then go ahead and give it back to him. But consider _our_ friendship over!"

"_What_?!"

He started laughing immediately. "HAHAHA! I'm just kidding. Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"Don't scare me like that!" I growled.

"Yeah, whatever," he said with a smile. "I just hope Gill doesn't think that you _stole_ it or anything..." I glared at him and all his evilness. "...but, if you survive," he went on, "then I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"You're not coming with me?"

"Nah. I mean, I'm still voting for reading it and not giving it back," he said casually, as if it was no big deal. "Sooo it wouldn't really make sense. And besides, I pretty much got enough dirt on him as it is." He snickered. "Poor little Gill lost his diary and had to be rescued by a girl! Haha...no offense."

"None taken," I assured him, rolling my eyes in amusement. "I'm just...glad you're happy."

"Me too!" He lay down and made a little snow-angel in the dirt, which made me laugh. "See ya later, Ange!"

"Bye."

"Oh, and, good luck!"

I grimaced.

**XXX**

**x_x *dies* Ugh. I hate the ending of this chapter soooo much. I wanted to end it a little later, at a slightly different time and place, but I kept screwing up the transition and eventually gave up. *sigh***

**Anyway...**

**Prologue: The only thing I can think of is his missing diary.**

**iChocoLove: I play ToT, but I must be slow, 'cause I have no idea what he's freaked out about. ... No wait, nevermind. O_o" I think I do, actually.**

**Congrats to Prologue for being the first to guess what it was, and kudos to iChocoLove for figuring it out (I think)---but being considerate enough not to say it so you wouldn't spoil it for anyone. Yay! *hugs you both***

**Okidoki, I'll see you all next time. Stay tuned.**


	6. Chapter Five

**Hi! Once again, sorry for the delay. I actually have a legit excuse this time! Since it's Thanksgiving, I was hauled off to my grandparents' house for the entire weekend, where I'm not allowed to use a computer. (And even if I was, they wouldn't have OpenOffice, which is the word processor that I use.) Needless to say, I wasn't even _able_ to work on AFILAL at all for the longest time. Grrr... Anyway, I have it to you now, so...enjoy! (Jeez, I really abuse the word "enjoy"...)**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Five

---

I slapped the book down on his desk. "So there."

It took him a second to respond. Finally, Gill's cerulean eyes rose from the document he'd been working on to meet mine, and he gave me a look of confusion. "...What?"

"So _there_," I repeated, and gave the diary a hard nudge so that inertia carried it straight into his lap. "You're welcome."

That made him realize what was going on. Instantly, his face erupted in a dark scarlet, and he jumped to his feet with an incoherent mess of "how"s and "what the hell"s. It was actually quite comical...and I can't even begin to describe how good it felt to see Gill being the humiliated one for once.

"Surprised?" I said, putting my hands on my hips in order to imitate his cocky behavior (salt in the wound, YEAH). "I guess someone as _idiotic_ as me actually _can_ solve your problems after all."

He failed to keep eye contact, but he attempted to cover it up by taking off his spotless reading glasses and cleaning them. After a rather long—uncomfortable in his case, impossibly satisfying in mine—silence, he at last realized that it was his turn to speak. But he obviously didn't know what to say, so I was able to enjoy a few more seconds of triumph.

"Y-you... You didn't read it, did you?" he decided, addressing his glasses.

I put my hands on my hips saucily. "Of course not!" I replied, pretending to be offended. "I would never do something so petty! What kind of person do you think I am, anyway?! ...Wait, that didn't come out right..."

In response, he simply clicked his tongue angrily and struggled to find his next words. After almost another full minute of waiting, I filled the silence myself. With more salt, of course. "I had to duel Luke to stop _him_ from reading it, though," I went on. "So you'd better be doubly grateful. Got it?"

"...Got it," he muttered.

That was all I needed. With a venomously sweet smile, I turned around and began to leave. I wasn't expecting what happened next.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh?" I stopped dead in my tracks and completely forgot that I was supposed to be acting arrogant. "...What?"

I turned around and saw that, to my surprise, Gill's eyes had become level with mine once again. And stranger still, he seemed genuinely confused. "Are you leaving?"

"I thought I was..." I answered truthfully. Shouldn't he be glad about my departure?

Thankfully, at that point, things started to make sense again, as he blushed with embarrassment when he spoke. "I haven't...thanked you yet," he said.

Wait, never mind. Nothing makes sense.

"C-come again?" I said disbelievingly. "Gill, you _do_ realize who you are, right?"

...Blank stare.

"Um, okay, that sort of came out wrong," I said sheepishly. Then I felt a grin start to pull my lips upward. "I'm just shocked that you'd say something like that, is all."

"What do you mean?" Oblivious.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy," I explained. "It's just... Whenever you and I have a conversation, you've always found some way to imply that I'm a dumb little farm girl, or something like that. This is probably the first nice thing you've said to me since we met. I'm so glad that you finally sucked up your pride and thanked me for something."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said defensively.

"Yeah, yeah," I giggled. "Well...you're welcome."

He was embarrassed. He was _very_ embarrassed, and I could easily tell. And yet, he wasn't taking anything back. All he did was shrug it off, trying to act like it was nothing, and sit back down to do his work again.

Now..._that_ was all I needed. This time with a real smile, I turned to leave...but was stopped by his voice once again. "And, Angela..."

I looked over my shoulder and saw that he hadn't looked up from his document this time. "Yes?" I asked.

"...I'm sorry," he told me quietly. I could see the reflection of his document, and behind that, his blue eyes looking somehow focused. The only thing that gave his feelings away was his voice, as his posture and writing seemed unaffected. But his voice was enough for me.

I beamed. "Apology accepted." And then, finally, I left. Very, very happily.

---

The next morning, there was a knock on my door. Naturally, I was confused. As a local farmer, it was pretty much my job to start working before the majority of Waffle Island's population had even woken up. But after a brief panic attack (Did I sleep in?!) I looked at the clock and saw that it was still very early—just after seven AM. So I began to wonder who had gotten out of bed and even stopped by my house this early. And I would have answered the knock immediately...had I not been just getting out of the shower at the time.

"Who is it?" I called in the direction of the front door.

Silence.

I cracked open the bathroom door a bit and poked my head out. "Hey, who's there?" I repeated.

This time, there was a soft mumble.

"What?"

"I-i-it's Candace!" The voice was tiny and barely audible, but, judging by how far away the speaker was and by her naturally quiet speech, she was probably yelling by now.

"Oh! Hey, Candace! Come on in—I'll be right there!" Quickly, I ducked back into the bathroom and hastily threw on the clothes I'd laid out. When I finally emerged, towel-drying my sopping hair as I went, I found the seamstress already sitting stiffly by my dining room table.

She smiled her weak little smile and waved at me in greeting. "G-good morning, Angela."

"Mornin'!" I said brightly, and hung the towel over the back of a chair. When she giggled at my appearance, I jokingly added, "Am I that bad?"

"You could say that," she told me. She reached into her cardigan pocket, pulled out a small, thin-toothed comb, and tossed it to me.

"So, what—ow—brings you—ow—here?" I asked as I began to rake the brush through my knotted locks.

"Y-you okay?" She watched my fidgeting with a concerned expression.

"I'm fine, just really—ow—tangled up." I winced one last time, and then finally handed her back the comb. "See? Finished now. The benefits of having short hair. Thanks, by the way."

"No p-problem," she said, flicking off the excess water and then putting the tool back in her pocket. "I'm here because of the Flower Festival today. We were supposed to go t-together, remember?"

"Flower Festival? Is it the tenth already?" Instinctively, I turned in the direction of my bookshelf, but then remembered that I'd moved the calendar into my bedroom. Curses. "I coulda sworn it was still the ninth..."

"No, it's definitely the tenth," she informed me.

"Ah! I'm not ready!" I fretted. "Can you wait here a moment? I left my necklace in my room..."

"You're going to wear your necklace?" echoed Candace.

"Yeah? What's with the disbelieving look?"

"It's nothing," she said, her face a bit confused. "It's just that you hardly ever wear jewelry, and when you do, you always end up taking it off. So why would you put it on in the first place?" As soon as she finished speaking, her expression suddenly turned pale and panicky. "U-u-unless you want to!" she added nervously. "Y-you can w-w-wear it t-today! I w-won't mind, really!"

Uh-oh. Candace Crisis 101: If she ever corrects you, and then freaks out and thinks that it's not her place to do so, go with what she says. "No, I see your point," I agreed. This was still the truth, at any rate. "I'll wear a hat instead. How 'bout that?"

She appeared relieved. Crisis averted. "That's f-fine."

I nodded and made my way over to my coat rack, where I plucked off my favorite fedora. "Shall we go, then? I'll let my animals out to graze and then we can get going. What time does it start?"

"Nine o'clock," Candace answered. "So you can get a bit of work done if you'd like. I c-could help you..."

"Nah, festival days are break days for me." I shrugged and giggled. "My plants can go without watering for _one_ day...just don't tell Craig I said that."

She giggled and followed me outside as I skipped along to my smallish animal barn. Without breaking a stride, I stretched my arm above my head, grasped the rope, and pulled it. The large brass bell sounded with its usual low, clear alarm, and moments later Bessy slowly emerged from the wide doorway, followed by Missy.

"Onward!" I cried, laughing. Candace chortled again, and then helped me herd the two livestock towards the grassy field that lay across the dirt walk-path from my house. Once inside, I swung the fence closed, snapped the lock, and whirled around to face my friend. "Alright, off we go!" I declared.

"It's still over an hour until the festival begins," she reminded me.

"Ah, well, we can go and help set up or something, right?" I suggested with a shrug. "Come on, this is an excuse to keep from watering my plants! It's _boring_."

"Oh, you." She shook her head and grinned.

**XXX**

***shakes fist at the sky* DAMN YOU, WRITER'S BLOCK! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I WANT FOR THE NEXT SCENE BUT I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO GET THERE!!! Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out soon... Well, here's the fifth chapter for now. Let's all cross our fingers in hopes for a speedily-written sixth.**


	7. Chapter Six

**Yay! I finally got some concrit! I've been waiting for someone to do that. :)**

**Starcandii: oh, one small tip: don't put in Author's Notes in the middle of the story...it kinda ruins the whole..."mood"? (or whatever its called...) Save them until the end of the chapter :]**

**Yes, I'm aware that it "ruins the mood" and stuff. I actually do that on purpose, believe it or not, because I like to be funny...and I'm just plain annoying like that. You're right, though--I should probably stop. It's mainly a bad habit caused by years of looking over the shoulders of friends while they read my stories. You should feel glad that you pointed this out, because you have no idea how many times I had to restrain myself from doing just that while writing this chapter. Lol.**

**Anywho...**

**Mild Spoiler Warning: Curses, curses, curses! With every new chapter I write, I'm hating the title more and more. "All's Fair in Love and Lies"...HOW CORNY CAN YOU GET, EH?! You don't know this yet, but it's actually a reference to an upcoming scene... But for the time being, it's just a normal, stupid title. Grrr...bear with me, okay? .**

**Okay, ranting and lame excuses aside, here's the next installment. Have fun! (*avoiding using the word "enjoy" again* ...oh wait...)**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Six

---

It was before eight o'clock, but the town had already started to bustle. Apparently, everyone was as excited as could be about today's festival—and why shouldn't they be? It was the very first town gathering of the year, which was always a very lively event. Even the ever-nervous Candace seemed to have a little extra bounce in her step as she walked along beside me.

"Are you planning on buying anything, Angela?" she asked conversationally.

"Maybe. It depends on what's for sale," I said, even though we both fully knew that I was going to splurge. I was famous for that, mostly because the shopkeepers were oftentimes close friends of mine.

"I think I'll buy a snowflake flower, perhaps," she said dreamily. "They're my favorite."

"I love snowflake flowers," I agreed. "It's so poetic how they can droop and bloom at the same time. And they can grow in the snow, of all places!"

"I know," she said with a smile. With that, we launched a rather animated conversation about flowers in order to pass the time. After a while, with Candace being the dressmaker that she was, we somehow turned to the subject of dyeing clothes. It was actually quite interesting.

Our chatting was abruptly cut short several minutes later at the sound of a shrill electronic screech. We cringed momentarily, and then turned to see Waffle Town's lovable quite-the-character mayor fumbling with a microphone. Finally, he figured out the correct way to hold it, and spoke: "Welcome, residents!" he announced cheerily. "Welcome to Waffle Island's annual Flower Festival! We hope you enjoy your day here! And remember, it ends at five o'clock, so be sure to get all your purchasing done by then!"

As if someone had flipped a switch, the crowd suddenly began to break away from their little groups and proceed to the numerous stalls that were scattered around the Waffle Town Square. Anissa and her mother had both set up stands, but by the way Ruth was leaning over the counter with her head in her hands, it seemed as though only the younger of the two would remain for long. I wanted to give her a painkiller, but, like the rest of her family, Ruth was an environmentalist and hated the use of drugs, even for medicinal purposes.

_Maybe that's why Anissa keeps denying how she feels about Jin,_ I realized. But Jin usually resorted to using herbs rather than drugs, so I couldn't see what the problem was. Perhaps just the fact that he used drugs at all...

I smack on the back of the head knocked me out of my reverie. With a yelp I dropped to my knees, my hand on the point of assault. I felt a tough leather object drop onto my legs from behind.

"What _was_ that?" I whined, turning around.

Candace had stooped down to pick up the weapon: a soccer ball. "I think..." she began, but was interrupted by a loud whoop.

"_Nailed_ her!" laughed a familiar voice. "Kathy, you _nailed _her! AHAHAHA!"

I looked up to see Kathy and Luke standing next to Candace. "Did _not_!" Kathy claimed, beating her fists (gently) against Luke's shoulder. "It was _you_! See, Angela, he's got that smug little look on his face!"

"I'm _smug_ because you nailed her!" he fired back.

Candace had seen the culprit. "Actually, it w-was—" she attempted.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Luke and Kathy said in unison.

"...both of them," she squeaked. She pantomimed the motion of a ricocheting ball to indicate that they'd both played a part.

"Grrr!" I took the ball from Candace's hands and threw it in their midst.

Luke hit the ball back onto the ground with his knee, then turned and began to dribble it to one corner of the square. "Thanks!" he called over his shoulder.

"Wha-?! Noooo!" Kathy chased after him.

Instinctively, I went too. Luke had made it to the side closest to the hill on the right (should you be facing the town hall) of Waffle Town Square, where I saw two stakes driven into the ground to mark a goal.

"Steal the ball, Ange, steal it!" Kathy ordered desperately.

Obediently, I slid in front of Luke and swiped the ball from his possession. I had to step away quickly to avoid his attempt to get it back, and then, still almost thoughtlessly, I dribbled it in the other direction.

"Fine, take her side!" Luke cried, pretending to be offended. "Candy, you're with me!"

"B-but..." Candace's protest was evidently futile, so she cut herself off after only that one word.

"I'm open!" Kathy told me, and I automatically passed to her. She received and guided the ball towards the other corner of the Square, laughing as she went.

"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!" Luke declared. He shot past me in pursuit.

"W-wait for m-me!" panted Candace, following him.

I ran ahead and spied the two makeshift goalposts that marked our target. With hurried precision, I angled myself to the side of it and called Kathy's name. Upon receiving the ball, I automatically sent it off at forty-five degrees into the goal.

"SCOOOOORE!" Kathy shrieked, jumping up and down with victory.

Luke snapped his fingers angrily, and then scurried after the ball. "That's only one point!" he cried.

"One point towards vic—" I started, but was cut off by the ball whizzing past my face.

"Oof!" Candace grunted softly as it hit her squarely in the stomach.

"Run with it, Candy, run!" Luke cheered.

Startled yet still comprehensive, Candace shook off her hesitation and hastily guided the ball in the direction of Kathy's and my goal. Luke celebrated and chased after her, yelling instructions when necessary.

"Candace, you should have told us you were _good_!" Kathy complained as Candace managed to avoid having the ball stolen for the third time.

"I'm not _that_..." She never finished her sentence, because her voice trailed off as she focused on kicking it into the goal. Luke had a spaz attack with glee.

"That's one-one! ONE-ONE! First one to get to five wins!" he announced. We decided not to acknowledge the fact that he'd randomly come up with that just now.

It continued on like that for several hours. Luke and Candace won the first game, only to have a rematch demanded seconds later. Then they won the second, too. Kathy and I managed to beat them in the third, only because we'd learned by now to make an effort to keep the ball out of Candace's possession. What she lacked in speed and stamina, she more than made up for in finesse—which was a surprise, since none of us had ever pegged her as the athletic type before, for obvious reasons.

Luckily, we avoided getting scolded too many times. Every so often the ball would fly off of the grassy play area and into one of the stalls, but over time those occasions became rarer and rarer.

Presently, I was the only obstacle in between Luke and our goal. He shot, but when I lunged for the ball, I suddenly lost my balance and toppled onto the ground on account of another shrill microphone screech. The ball rolled effortlessly in between the two stakes.

"GOOOOOAAAL!" he cried.

"NO FAIR!" bellowed Kathy. "We both know Angela could've stopped that!"

"But she DIDN'T!"

"Sh-should we be listening to this?" Candace squeaked, pointing at Hamilton, who was announcing something. Luke and Kathy both quieted long enough for us to hear the rest of his brief "the festival is over" speech.

"Oh, dang it," I said. "I didn't get to buy a single flower."

"That just means you'll be able to afford to eat tomorrow," Kathy teased.

"One time, Kathy, _one_ time!"

"GOOOAAL!"

We both jumped, and saw that Luke had kicked the ball through the posts a second time. Kathy practically tackled him. "NOT. FAIR. NOT. FAIR. NOT. FAIR."

"FAIR. FAIR. FAIR," Luke chanted as he struggled to keep her hands away from his neck.

Candace stepped next to me and giggled softly. "They're very...competitive...aren't they?"

"Epically," I agreed.

Luke's fair-unfair shot had ended the game, so we went our separate ways after Candace and I managed to pry the two apart. Luke lived far away and would need to leave immediately if he wanted to be home before the sunset, and Kathy and Candace both had family members whom they'd promised to return to early. As for me, I had a massive pile of work to do. I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it to neglect it this morning.

It was always a bit disheartening to see your three closest friends leave you, all in different directions. I stopped to watch them on the wide stone steps that bridged Waffle Town and the Square. When they were no longer in sight, I managed only a single step...

"Angela."

...before jumping so high that I almost fell off the stairway. I hadn't expected anyone to say my name after my friends' departure. Turning around, I saw that it was Gill who had called me. ...Wait, why him?

"Don't startle me like that," I told him with a slight frown. Then I brushed it off and added, "Do you want something?"

"No. Not really." After what seemed to be a hesitation, he lifted up a lavender. "Here. I bought this for you earlier."

"...Eh?" Gill was giving me a _flower_?! What has the world come to?!

"An extra thanks," he clarified, as if reading my mind. "For yesterday."

"Oh." I accepted the gift, and thanked him with my brightest smile. "This is...very kind of you, Gill," I commented candidly. "I'm surprised."

He folded his arms, a bit self-consciously. "It's not like I got it specially for you," he said. "I just had some excess money, is all."

"Right. Of course." I'd never gotten the chance to notice this before, but he was very cute when he was embarrassed.

"Anyway..." He glanced over his shoulder at the remnants of the festival. "I need to help my father clean up. I'll see you around."

"Alright. Bye-bye!" I said. "I'd offer to help, but I still have work to do on my farm."

He nodded uninterestedly (Uninterestedly! Grrr! I was trying to say something helpful!), and turned to go back to the Square. I waved, even though he wouldn't see me, and then left as well.

Upon arriving home, I planted the lavender in a thin vase filled with water, then went out to tend to my crops. After wondering for the umpteenth time why I didn't simply ditch the watering can and get sprinklers instead—and grudgingly reminding myself that I had neither the money nor the reasonably large amount of crops to do so—I rang the brass bell and herded my animals back into the barn. It was about nine-thirty when I finally went to bed.

I didn't realize until tomorrow morning that, for whatever reason, I'd absentmindedly placed the lavender on my bedside table.

--

The next day, a sound like a concentrated volcano exploded from the direction of my door. I had been preparing breakfast for myself when it came, and in an instant my cereal became a mess of shattered ceramics and spilled milk on the floor. It took me a moment to realize that someone was knocking.

"What the—Who is it?!" I half-shrieked.

"LUUUUUKE!"

Of course. Who else? "Luke? What are you doing—"

"LET ME IIIIIN! WHY IS YOUR DOOR LOCKED?! AHHHHH!" BANG-BANG-BANG.

"Are you being chased by a psycho killer or something?" I muttered. He didn't hear me, and simply continued his screaming and pounding. "Hang on a second!" I told him. "Let me clean this—"

"LET ME IN NOWWWWW!!" BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG.

"Oh, for the love of..." I sighed, sauntered over to the door, and opened it.

Luke fell face-first into my house, evidently having been leaning on the outside of the threshold. Quickly, he scrabbled to his feet and casually seated himself at my dining room table as if everything was normal. Well, technically this _was_ normal for Luke.

"Hi."

"Hi."

We fell silent.

"...So, I suppose you need something?" I said.

He had been waiting for me to say this. He erupted into a grin and declared, "I have breaking news!!!"

"So important that you ran all the way here at six-thirty in the morning?"

"I wanted to talk to you about it yesterday, but Pops wanted me back ASAP, so I didn't have time." He shrugged nonchalantly. "And I reeeeeeally wanted to tell you."

"That much is obvious," I remarked. "So, what's the breaking news?"

The grin widened, but he said nothing.

"...Well?"

"I'm building dramatic tension!" he assured me.

"Oh, Luke..." I rolled my eyes and giggled. "Fine, then. Build it while I clean this up." I made my way back to the kitchen and began to pick up the remnants of my cereal bowl.

Even after I had taken my time to throw out the pieces and mop up the food, he still remained silent. It was starting to get on my nerves. A full five minutes after I finished cleaning and had leaned against the counter to wait for him, I finally demanded, "_What_?"

"This is absolutely, positively, completely the _hugest_ fact I've ever found out yet," he said. "It's so incredibly—"

"Luke!"

"Fine, fine," he pouted. "So, Angela...Gill has a crush on you."

**XXX**

**Oh dear...could this be...my _third_ delay in a row? D: I suppose I could start throwing all these dumb excuses your way, like "The holidays have me busy!" or "I have tons of homework!" and stuff like that...but that would pretty much be a lie. My parents are planning everything, and even my homework-happy teachers have been going easy on us lately. To tell you the truth, I'm just a procrastinator. They say that the first step towards recovery is acceptance—so now that I _know_ I'm lazy, I'll make an effort to try to fix that. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up by this Saturday...just don't bet your life on it.**

**......Hehehe, I'll bet that's _exactly_ what you want to hear right after a cliffhanger, eh? xD**


	8. Chapter Seven

**I started working on this immediately after writing the last chapter just to ensure a quick upload. \o/ YAY FOR MY ACTUALLY GETTING THINGS DONE.**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Seven

---

"_Gill has a crush on you."_

I stared at Luke in disbelief. For the longest time we were both silent, his shocking words soundlessly echoing through the room. After several eternal moments, it clicked. I cracked up.

He gave me a genuinely bewildered look. "Wha...?"

I was laughing so hard that I actually had to lean on the counter for support. "Oh, Goddess, Luke!" I chortled. "For a second there I actually thought you were serious! Hahahaha!"

"...I _was_ serious..." he said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, of course!" I giggled. "_Gill_ has a crush on _me_! As if! Remember who we're talking about here! Ahahahahahahahahaha~!"

"But...I mean it..." He looked hurt. I realized that I was insulting him, and shut up instantly.

"Wait, you mean that's the _truth_?" My moment of mirth had just been utterly slaughtered. "_That's_ the breaking news? Really?!"

He perked up now that I was starting to believe him. "Yeah!" he said. "It took me a while to figure out, since he's been so good at hiding it. But you can't keep anything from ol' Luke for long!"

I gaped at him. "Gill. Gill Hamilton...likes _me_? Are you _sure_?"

"Definitely."

"Are you _absolutely_ sure?"

"I wouldn't tell you if I wasn't!" he confirmed.

"B-but...How can you _tell_? How can you possibly get that idea?" My voice had gotten abnormally high-pitched. "Up until two days ago he _loathed_ me, not _loved_ me! And even now, he's hardly expressing any 'interest'!"

"Actually, he's probably been in love with you for a while now," said Luke. I cringed at his casual use of the phrase _in love with you_. "I just noticed it yesterday."

"..._What_?"

Luke grinned from ear to ear. He kicked the chair opposite him, causing it to scoot out several inches. "Have a seat! I'll start from the beginning."

..._He's enjoying this,_ I thought irritably. Nevertheless, I did as I was told.

"So, you remember a couple days ago, when we found his diary in the forest?" Luke began. "And you brought it back to him and stuff, right?"

"Get to the point, Luke."

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there," he said. I could've sworn I heard him suppress a snicker. "Have you noticed him being...awkward...with you, Angela?"

"Of course he's _awkward_," I said. "It was his _diary_ after all, and I was the one who found it, of all people!"

"Yes. You."

My cheeks burned. "No, not like that!" I said quickly. "It was because he hated me, remember?"

"Quite the opposite," Luke said smugly.

"How would _you_ know?!"

"Because..." His voice trailed off.

"If you 'build up dramatic tension' again, I swear I'm going to strangle you with your own bandanna," I growled.

He held up his hands in surrender—but he smiled as he did so, which kinda destroyed the point. "Fine, fine," he chuckled. "Anyway...this is my theory: He's had a serious crush on you for the past few weeks, but of course he's never admitted it. Then when you returned his diary, I'll bet you said something that really got to him, so he got more clumsy, which let me notice it for the first time."

"What do you mean, I said—" My own memory cut me off.

"_Whenever you and I have a conversation, you've always found some way to imply that I'm a dumb little farm girl, or something like that. This is probably the first nice thing you've said to me since we met."_

Had he really taken that to heart? I was half-joking when I told him that, after all!

Luke noticed my change in expression. "Hehehe, remember something?"

"Shut up, Luke," I muttered before I could stop myself. He didn't falter.

"So, continuing with the story," he went on. "I wasn't sure at first, but it totally sealed the deal when I saw him give you that flower." He nodded his head in the direction of the lavender on my desk.

I nearly fell out of my chair. "HOW DID YOU SEE THAT?!" I cried.

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"You weren't there!" This was almost as crazy as the reason why he was currently in my house in the first place. "You left! There was no way you could have seen him give it to me!"

He shrugged. "I just looked over my shoulder, is all."

"YOU WERE IN MAPLE LAKE DISTRICT BY THEN."

"I have the sight of a hawk!" He pointed at his ocher eyes proudly.

"More like the sight of Superman..."

"Cuz I'm special like that." He laughed, then continued: "The bottom line is, Gill has it _bad_ for you, whether you believe me or not."

"But why _me_?" I found myself fingering a lock of my auburn hair nervously. "Why not...Elli? She works with him. She's pretty and smart and a thousand times more mature than me. Why not her?"

"Because he likes _you_."

"But _why_?!" I winced as I accidentally plucked a hair or two from my scalp. I decided to put my hand down, lest I bald myself.

"How am I supposed to know?" said Luke. "Believe me, Ange, I was just as surprised as you. But I guess all those times when he was cold to you were actually his way of showing he cared."

"In no possible way, in any possible universe, does that make sense."

"Actually, you'd be surprised," he informed me. "It's a dude thing, you wouldn't know. We tend to get a little...hmm, what's the word? Passive. We tend to get passive towards the girls we like. I think it's dumb, too, but it's the truth."

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. With a sigh I dropped my gaze to my hands, which were folded oh-so neatly on the tabletop. I waited for Luke to finish the conversation himself.

"Hey, Ange, you okay? Say something."

Figures.

"You should be a reporter when you grow up, you know," I said. "Nothing escapes your knowledge."

He chuckled. "You do a really bad job at changing subjects. Trying to distract me?"

Shoot. "If you weren't so hell-bent on being a carpenter that would have worked."

"Maybe, maybe not," said Luke. "Well, when you finally figure out how you feel about this, let me know."

I almost fell out of my chair a second time, this time for a different reason. "...Well, whatever!" I said, a little too loudly. "We both have work to do. I'll see you later. Okay?"

"Sure, sure." With that, he stood up and left me in peace.

I really didn't like that grin.

**XXX**

**Yes, I know. Ultra-omega-short. At this point, there's a scene change, and I cheated by ending the chapter instead of transitioning. But at least that means it was uploaded just one day after the last one, which is an ultra-omega-plus. :] ...Just do yourself a favor and don't get used to this speed.**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Hehe, I'm on a roll. ^^**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Eight

---

I spilled the watering can. Again.

I groaned and returned, for at least the seventh time (I had lost track), to the outdoor faucet at the edge of my tiny field. Miraculously, the water in the town's reservoir hadn't run out yet, so the water still flowed strongly when I turned the handle to refill my can. Then I went back to my crops, watered one of them, and dropped the tool again.

"I give up!" I moaned, kicking the watering can away. It rolled pitifully for several feet before coming to a stop at the base of a few breadfruit stalks. If Craig wanted to see my plants die of thirst, then this was his lucky day, because I was simply _not_ in the mood for farm work today. Go ahead. Rub it in my face. See if I care.

Bessy and Missy were happily grazing away in the pasture, completely oblivious to their owner's inexplicable angst. In desperate need of a scapegoat, I grabbed my milker and shears like I was seizing a sword and marched off.

Missy had already been sheared just two days ago, but I set out to attack her fur nonetheless. While I was cutting, she kept giving me strange glances. Oh, what did she know? She was a sheep! She couldn't judge me!

Stupid inadequate amount of wool. I barely got a handful from her entire body. With a sigh, I pocketed the fuzz and moved onto Bessy.

...Alright, if there was one thing I was capable of realizing in my current state, it was that I was definitely not in any shape to milk a cow. The first clue I received was the fact that, instead of the milker, I had grabbed a water bottle by mistake. After seeing that, I double-checked and found out that I had just shaved my sheep with a pair of normal paper scissors.

"Whatever." I threw the tools onto the ground. And after a minute or two, I picked them up again and moved them to the edge of the pasture so my livestock wouldn't step on them. Then I relocated them at the base of the faucet. And then into my tool shed.

_What is wrong with you today, Angela?_ I questioned scornfully. I ran my fingers through my hair, sighed again, and leaned against the outer wall of my house._ Get a hold of yourself. It's not the end of the world just because..._

Because Gill is in love with me.

"Shut up," I said aloud, then slapped myself. "Oh great. Now you're talking to yourself. Well, isn't that just _peachy_!" ...But who else could I talk to? After a couple of seconds, I exhaled regretfully and made my way back to the pasture.

"Yo, Bessy," I muttered. She didn't even pretend to look up, but I continued anyway: "You probably knew this already, since I think he woke up the entire island when he did so, but Luke came over to my house earlier this morning."

She munched on some grass.

"He kept saying that he had something important to tell me," I went on. "And guess what? As it turns out, Gill, the guy from the town hall...at least according to Luke, um...he has a crush on me. Isn't that just ridiculous?"

Moo.

"I know I shouldn't let this get to me." I folded my arms tightly across my chest. "It's just that I don't really know what to think. It's...it's really contrasting what I thought he saw me as. It's hard to believe. He's nice and all, and certainly very cute..." I stopped and hit myself in the head. "No, never mind that."

I pretended that Bessy was asking, "Why do you think he feels this way?"

"Like I said, I don't know. Luke said that—Luke!" I suddenly felt a rush of anger. "Arg, Luke! He just _had_ to tell me, didn't he?! Stupid Luke with his stupid gossip and stupid inability to keep his big mouth shut. Ugh! As soon as he found out, the first thing he thought was 'I should tell Angela!' It never occurred to him that maybe there was a reason why Gill didn't tell me himself! This is no different from when he tried to read Gill's diary! That little, insensitive—"

For the first time, Bessy looked up from her grassy meal as a reaction to my voice. I stopped talking and grudgingly interpreted the motion as "Quit taking it out on Luke. He didn't do anything."

"You're right," I admitted. "It's not his fault. It's just that I've never been in this position before, and... Oh, Goddess. I'm talking to a cow."

With that, I fell silent. Bessy went back to eating the grass. I stood there for several minutes, and then at long last I turned and walked back to my front porch. I sat on the steps and put my head in my hands.

What should I do now? Normally I would go and visit Candace at the tailor shop, or head over to Ganache Mine District, where Luke and Kathy would most likely be battling over some randomly-chosen game. But I doubted that any of my best friends would understand.

At that point, as if some cruel deity had been listening to my thoughts, I saw him.

I nearly had a seizure. My farmland was close to Waffle Town, dangerously close, separated only by a short path. And there was Gill, talking to Jin about something I couldn't hear, right at the end of said path. They seemed to be going towards Maple Lake District.

I panicked.

_What should I do?_

_Should I call him?_

_Should I hide?_

_Should I ask him about...?_

I took a deep, shuddering breath and forced myself to think clearly. _If he likes me, he'll look this way when he passes my land._

I watched, sitting as stiff as the wooden planks I rested on. He passed by the path without breaking a stride. With my breath held captive, I waited until he had disappeared behind the corner, and then put a hand on my chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

He hadn't even glanced.

I let myself relax for the first time today. Perhaps Luke was a natural-born sleuth, but he was also human. Even he could be wrong sometimes. Even he _was_ wrong sometimes.

--

The next Saturday, like Saturdays always were, was very exciting. It was Luke's day off from work, which meant that he could meet Kathy, Renee and I up at Brownie Ranch for our weekly horseback-riding pastime. Once upon a time Candace would come with us as well, but sadly her riding skills weren't as surprisingly adept as her soccer, so after just two tries she retreated back to her beloved tailor shop instead.

Unfortunately for me, Luke wasn't the only one who loved to visit Brownie Ranch on his day off.

"So, wimp, what do you say to a little healthy competition?" Craig bantered as I mounted Whisper, one of Renee's horses.

Before I could even open my mouth, Luke cantered over and declared, "First person to get to Alan's Tree wins!"

"I second the notion," Kathy chimed in.

"Then it's settled." I gripped Whisper's reigns and smirked at Craig. "Try to keep up, old man!"

"Back at'cha, shortie."

That was a new one. "Shortie...?"

"GO!" Luke cried, and the three of them dashed ahead of me before I could react.

I realized what was going on a split second too late. "I'M FIVE-FOOT-TWO, YOU JERK!" I yelled, then yanked the reigns and galloped.

It wasn't long before I managed to fix the gap between myself and my opponents. Kathy was proudly in the lead, with Craig in a close second. Luke...well, Luke looked like he was riding a bucking bronco, to put it lightly. As for myself, I kept sadly steady in last place.

"Dang!" I growled, leaning in against Whisper's neck.

Together, the horse and I twisted and turned around the little obstacles that we encountered. We still remained at the back of the group, but suddenly I spotted an opening and—

"LOOK OUT!" Kathy shrieked, wrenching at her steed's reigns.

Craig came to a stop instantly. Knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to halt as perfectly as them, I quickly swerved to the left and slowed to a stop there. Luke tried to imitate me, but his bucking bronco routine caused...complications.

I heard Renee scream, and I looked up in horror to see what had happened. To my relief, no one was hurt (unless you count Luke hanging haphazardly off his saddle at a truly incredible angle). Renee had dove onto the ground and was currently lying, unharmed, at the hooves of Kathy's motionless animal.

The real chaos came from the crash, seconds later. Apparently, Renee had been carrying a large wire cage when she'd accidentally wandered into our path, which had been cast into the air during the fray. Now, it landed on the ground with an unbelievable screech of metal, and its contents scattered like marbles bursting from a broken pouch.

"MY CHICKENS!" Renee cried.

I didn't know whether to scream or laugh out loud. Indeed, Renee's prized chickens were now scampering all around us with frenzied clucks and waves. Now, if only I could decide whether this was hectic or humorous...

"Don't just stand there, get them!" Craig ordered, jumping down from his horse.

I decided to laugh before I leaped down as well. All five of us went in different directions, each chasing one of the runaway chickens like our lives depended on it. The cage's clasp was smashed, but we were able to use it as a capture device using the upturned-laundry-basket method.

"There's one more!" I announced, pointing in the direction of the last chicken. There was no way that I was going to let there be only one left, so I pelted after it with all my might.

Have you ever tried to catch a chicken? It's absolutely impossible. I had already passed the Ganache Mine before I tripped and lost sight of it.

"Hahaha! You're not going to catch it lying down, Ange!"

It didn't surprise me that Luke had come as well. "Stop laughing and GO AFTER IT!" I commanded.

He did go after it, but did _not_ stop laughing. I can't say I blamed him. After I regained my composure, I ran off in pursuit once again. We passed the blacksmith's, then Luke's house, and traveled farther and farther down the path. How far away from home could one chicken go, eh?! In almost no time at all we entered the Praline Woods.

"It went that way!" Luke told me.

"No, that way!"

"...Aw, crap."

"Fine. I'll go this way, you go that way."

"Sure, sure!"

We split apart.

I hacked my way through the thickets and underbrush like I was in some sort of Indiana Jones movie. Almost immediately, I lost track of the number of times I tripped. What was it about mad chickens that made such a familiar forest become a jungle? I made a mental note to suggest to Calvin that he should try setting poultry of his own loose every once in a while.

At long last, I happened to glance up and notice a rustle in one of the trees. "Found you!" I said automatically, and lifted myself onto the lowest branch.

It took me a couple of minutes to reach the right level. I had been an average climber as a child, but my current lifestyle of working out in the open air of my farm had made me all but crippled in tight spaces like this. Nevertheless, I persevered, and scooted urgently further and further down the limb.

"Hey, there, little chicky," I murmured, moving some leaves out of the way. "Renee's worried about you, so how about we—eh?"

With my sight now cleared, I could tell that the bird that perched in front of me was not a chicken, but a sparrow. "What the—"

_Snap!_

Oh, shoot.

I fell.

**XXX**

***hides under desk* Eep! The chickens! They haunt me. O_o**

**I don't know about you, but I was freaked out while writing this. THE CHICKENS, THE CHICKENS! AHHHH!!**

**Oh yeah, and YAY I'M SO PROUD. :D *victory dance* Another quick chapter! Methinks I may be getting the hang of this.**


	10. Chapter Nine

**Ah, Christmas is getting closer!! This has nothing to do with the story, but I'm happy! xD Ah, and here's chapter nine. :3**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Nine

---

The impact was less painful than I expected it to be, but frustration filled in for the lack of hurt. I sat up and glared at the tree. The branch I had fallen from was lying in front of me, with its jagged birthplace exposing the undisturbed bird.

"DAMMIT, YOU SPARROW!" I yelled furiously, shaking my fist in its direction. "WHY AREN'T YOU A CHICKEN!?"

"...I _truly_ hope that that question is rhetorical," came a voice from behind me. No, _under_ me. I looked over my shoulder and saw that I had landed squarely on top of none other than Gill.

I was so startled and mortified that I actually shrieked before jumping to my feet. "Gill! Oh—G-Goddess—I—I—I'm so—s-sorry—I didn't s-see—"

He didn't say anything. Just cleared his throat, straightened his shirt, and sat up. I couldn't read the look on his face.

"...It's a long story," I mumbled, attempting hide my burning face.

"I'm sure it is."

I self-consciously shifted my weight from one leg to the next, then offered my hand to help him up; however, he ignored it and stood up on his own. So, in order to avoid an awkward silence, I bit my lip and asked, "Er...what are you doing here, anyway? This is a long way away from the town hall."

"I was discussing certain things with Ramsey, mostly financial issues." He gave me a you-wouldn't-be-interested look, then smirked slightly and added, "Shortly after I finished I happened to notice you and Luke run into this forest like madmen. Naturally, I was curious."

...Ugh. I blushed. "Um...we were horseback riding and...Renee's chickens got loose and stuff...and, er..." I really did _not_ want to explain this to anyone, especially Gill. At the time I'd felt nothing but adrenaline, but now...

At that point, Luke—what's the word?—exploded into the scene. Saved by the bell. "Look! Look! I found it!" he cried, brandishing the runaway chicken.

I almost had a heart attack. "Uh, I don't think you should be holding it like that..."

"Whaaat?"

"She means you're about to wring its neck, you imbecile," Gill said, rolling his eyes.

Luke jumped back a few steps, not having noticed Gill's presence.. "Hey, when'd you get here?" he asked.

"Luke...the chicken..."

He didn't seem to be paying attention. Then, when he suddenly flashed a devious smile, I realized with horror that he had been plotting something. "Right, I should give this back to Renee!" he said, then gave me a conspicuous wink. "But there's no reason for you to go all the way back, too, so you can stay if you want."

Damn you, Luke. Before I got a chance to protest, he skipped off in the direction of Brownie Ranch, leaving me behind. I wanted to throw a rock at him, but that probably would have given too much information away.

"Is there something I'm missing?" inquired Gill when he saw my face.

"No. Definitely _not_." My voice pitched a little too high.

If it had been within Gill's oh-so eloquent vocabulary to say "Yeah, suuuure," then at that point he would have. I sighed at the look on his face. This guy was starting to damage my self-esteem.

Option A: I tell him that I didn't understand what Luke meant.

Option B: Flee.

Option C: I stay and chat.

Result A: He thinks I'm an idiot.

Result B: Luke calls me a scaredy-cat and drags me back.

Result C: I say something retarded.

Joy.

Luckily, though, right then my Messiah came to me in clipboard form. During my epic fail—I mean, fall—Gill seemed to have dropped his work, which I presently stooped down to pick up. The foreground was just boring text about stuff that I could barely even read, but it was the sides of the paper that caught my interest.

In the lower margin, someone—Gill—had lightly drawn the image of an oak tree. The loose pencil lines swept around perfectly to capture the shape and even a bit of texture. It was rough and sketchy, but beautiful.

That was all I managed to glimpse before the clipboard was snatched out of my hands. Stunned, I looked up at Gill, who had suddenly developed a bit of color in his cheeks.

"That's really good."

"It's nothing."

"No really," I said honestly. "I had no idea you were an artist."

He shook his head. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Nobody is born that good. You must practice a lot."

"I don't." I could tell from his terse answers that he was becoming flustered.

"I mean it," I encouraged. "You should be proud of your talent. _I_ can't draw to save my life."

He averted his gaze. "It was just a sketch," he muttered.

"I believe the correct term is 'doodle'," I said. I ignored him rolling his eyes again. "You know what I think? I think that even the almighty Gill gets bored sometimes."

He made a face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

I smiled and casually took his hand. "Come on. I'm gonna teach you how to have fun."

**XXX**

**Dang, shortness! :P Christmastime is taking over my brain. Hehehe. Bye-bye!**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Grarg...Writers block. . Sorry for the slow upload! So much for my speedy streak. Well, it's finally here now, as my lil' Christmas present to y'all. Be happy. :D BIG SMILE.**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Ten

---

If Gill was overwhelmed before, that was nothing compared to what he was now. The instant my hand touched his, his entire face turned crimson.

"_Come on. I'm gonna teach you how to have fun."_

"A-Angela?" he stammered. "W-what do you...?"

"I'll show you!" I said brightly. I gave his arm a tug and began to usher him out of the forest. Unable to think of what to say, he simply bit his lip and allowed me to lead him.

Luke's reaction was priceless. The instant Gill and I came into view—holding hands, that is—he gave out a huge whoop and started jumping up and down. The outburst was so loud that Gill cringed and covered one ear with his free hand (I was used to it though, so I did not do the same).

"What is he so happy about?" he asked incredulously.

"Stupid Luke things," I said, shooting a glare at Luke to shut him up.

Once I reached the group, I finally let go of his hand. He immediately folded his arms tightly across his chest—which was a somewhat awkward position, considering he was still holding the clipboard. Luke laughed openly at this gesture, earning himself another glower from me.

"It's good to see you, Gill!" Renee greeted cheerfully. "You haven't been up here in a while!"

His mouth twitched; this was obviously not within his comfort zone. "Well, there hasn't really been any work for me to—"

"_Exactly_," I cut in.

"What?"

"You've only been here for thirty seconds and _already_ you've mentioned something about work," I said. I faced Renee. "Do you have another extra horse?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, I'll be right back!"

"W-wait...horse...?" Gill echoed, utterly confused.

"I'll take that," chimed Kathy, and snitched his clipboard.

"H-hey!"

"Right this way," I said, pushing him in the direction Renee was going.

"Angela, s-stop!" He tried to flinch away, but I persevered and soon managed to steer him to Renee's pasture, where she was proudly stroking a chestnut-brown mare. He looked like this was the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen.

Renee laughed. "Oh, don't worry. She won't bite, will you, Star?" She planted a kiss on the horse's hazel nose as if to prove her statement.

Gill cringed. "You...you can't be serious."

"We're _never_ serious," I told him brightly. "But that doesn't mean we're not making you do it." I shoved him forward, and he shot me an indignant scowl in return. But after a long hesitation, he realized that we weren't going to back off, and reluctantly mounted the steed.

"_Now_ we're getting somewhere!" Kathy declared, coming up behind us. Gill averted his gaze once again.

She had also brought Whisper for me. As I climbed onto my own animal, I shot Gill the same cocky smile he'd used on me so many times before.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now you ride," I said. "It's easy. Just do whatever Luke doesn't do."

"I resent that!" Luke snapped. I giggled.

I tugged at Whisper's reigns, easing her forward, and looked back at Gill. "Give it a shot!" I beckoned, waving him on.

Craig came into the conversation. "Unless he doesn't know _how_," he taunted.

That was it. Gill scowled and warily began to walk Star forward.

"That's right!" I said. "But can you _race_?" And with that, I yanked Whisper's reigns and shot forward, with Kathy and Luke close behind.

All of a sudden, I heard the clatter of hooves, and the next thing I knew Gill was right beside me. "Of course I can race," he said, and darted ahead.

"H-HEY!" I cried, caught-off guard. I jerked the reigns and pelted after him.

Behind me, Luke and Kathy began to cheer. "GO TO THE BENCH AREA! THAT'S THE FINISH LINE!" Kathy shrieked.

"Curses!" I cried, pulling harder and harder at the reigns.

Craig came up beside me. "Nice going, now you'll be in last place out of _five_," he said.

"Will _not_!" Luke and Kathy I didn't mind, but I would _not_ lose to either Craig or Gill. It was simply an impossibility.

Despite my effort, soon I heard Kathy pull up next to me as well. With a dark scowl, I wrenched at the reigns until Whisper got angry with me and swerved to the left.

"YAH!" I screamed, releasing her immediately.

"Angelagetoutoftheway!"

I jumped and tried to turn Whisper away, but realized too late that I'd let go of the reigns. I seized her mane and swung haphazardly further to the left, turning my head just in time to see Luke come to an abrupt halt. With a shriek, his inertia flipped him off his horse and directly _into Kathy_. After another screech they both toppled over and tumbled several feet on the ground, coming to a graceless stop at the base of the benches.

"Oh my Goddess!" I cried, leaping off my horse. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!"

They both sat up, looking dazed. Kathy's ribbon had slid all the way down to the end of her ponytail, letting her hair hang loosely around her shoulders. Luke's bandanna was MIA and his shirt crumpled.

Suddenly Kathy grabbed Luke by the neck. "WHY YOU LITTLE—!"

"GACK! IT—WASN'T—MY—FAULT!" Luke choked squirming out of her grip.

He staggered to his feet and dodged her flailing arms. "GET BACK HERE!" Kathy yelled as he started to run away.

"Look on the bright side," Craig said. "At least you got to the benches first. What a graceful tie."

They didn't pay any attention, as Luke was too busy fleeing for his life with Kathy in close pursuit. I started to giggle, relieved that they were okay. Then I remembered the extra person we had today, and suddenly worried about his opinion on this. Nervously, I glanced over at Gill.

He was watching Luke and Kathy's display with unreadable eyes. I stared hard at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. But for several long seconds, his expression remained unchanged.

Then he started to laugh.

I blinked in surprise. Even Craig glanced over for a split second before pretending that he didn't care. _Gill was laughing._

It wasn't sarcastic in any way. He actually found Luke and Kathy _funny_. I watched in awe as he put his hand in front of his mouth and even leaned against Star's neck for support. _Laughing!_

After a while, he felt my eyes. He turned and caught me before I could look away. "What?"

"Gill!" I said, very serious. "You're actually capable of human emotions!"

I expected him to glower at me, but instead he chuckled. "It appears so."

"Who are you and what have you done with Gill?"

He laughed again. "You had better get back on your horse, Angela."

"Why?"

"Because the first one to Alan's Tree wins."

**XXX**

**So, that's it! Hahaha. I don't know about you, but personally I love happy Gill. :3**

_**HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!**_


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Pyro Raptor77: However, I'd like to point out that tugging on a horses reigns doesn't make it go forward. At all. It tends to make them angry and throw their heads.**

**I figured someone was going to say something like that, considering I've never ridden a horse in my life. xD Just out of curiosity, how DO you make them go faster? ...And while you're at it, mind telling me any synonyms for "reigns?" Hahaha.**

**Unforseen Fortuity: It makes me wish the chapter was longer--but that was the plan, right? Get us all excited with LukexKathy comedy and Gill happiness, and break it off. Hook, line, and sinker.**

**Nah, I just couldn't think of any way to continue the scene. I MEAN...UH...YEAH, TOTALLY. *shot***

**Eh? LukexKathy? I had no idea I was doing that. xD It's true they'd make an adorable couple, but I love LukexSelena toooo much. But maybe, in just this one fanfic...hmm... ZOMG SPOILERZ =O**

**Lol. So...here's the story~**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Eleven

---

You can tell that someone really misses hanging out with his old friends when he summons up a get-together under the excuse of "We're throwing a welcome party for Angela's new goat!"

Go ahead. Try saying that with a straight face.

It's impossible.

But Chase was a good actor—he had to be, since he had to pretend that he loved Maya's food on a daily basis—so, somehow, he managed. Listening to the statement didn't give me the same results, and I started laughing my head off.

"I'm serious!" he said, folding his arms.

"Sure. Yeah. Sound's good."

"You know, Angela bought Gretta two days ago," Kathy told him, poking his shoulder. He didn't say anything.

--

"But you _have_ to come!"

Gill didn't look up from his papers. "Why?"

I folded my arms and leaned against one of the pews. "Because I just left my own party just to come all the way here to invite you. That's why!"

"I didn't ask you to."

I frowned deeply. "Yesterday you were having so much fun with us. What happened to the Gill who actually had, let's see, I think the phrase was 'human emotions?'"

"He remembered all of the work he had left to do." He looked up to narrow his eyes at me. "You distracted me for the entire day before I was able to get anything finished. Now I have to make up for it."

"If you're so hell-bent on getting your precious job done," I said, "then why are you here at the church instead of in your office?" It was Sunday, so the town hall was closed, but surely he would still be able to get in, right?

Wrong. He lowered his gaze again, this time in an embarrassed way. "Father hid the key," he mumbled.

I couldn't help but giggle. "See? I think that's a sign that you should take a day off."

"I took a day off yesterday," he pointed out.

"Another one! While something's actually _happening_."

"You mean nothing happened yesterday?" he said with a straight face.

I giggled once again. "Tell me, have you ever been to a party?" I asked. "Like, ever?"

The question wasn't one that he was prepared for, so he fell silent for several seconds. At last, "I...I've been to the festivals," he said defensively. "I was the one who _organized _most of them."

"Those don't count. They're town-wide things, and you don't need an invitation," I said. "And the fact that you _made_ them? That just puts you in the negatives. Don't you see? That's your problem, Gill. You're all about work, work, work, _all_ the time. Why don't you _schedule_ some time for play once in a while?"

He opened his mouth to continue the argument, then decided against it and looked back down at his clipboard. "Are you still trying to convince me to go to _your_ party today?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Well then," he said. "I'm not going, end of story."

I tried to stare him down, but he'd already gone back to writing, so he didn't see me. Seconds turned into minutes, dragging by monotonously as the silence grew. "Gill?" I attempted after a while.

"No."

"But—"

"No."

Talking wasn't working, so I decided on the alternative. I sauntered over to where he was sitting and plucked his glasses right off his face.

"Wha—?! Hey!" He jumped and reached to take them back, but I slid away from his range.

"Hey, how come you don't wear these all the time?" I asked sincerely.

"Give them back!" Again, he lunged, and again, I dodged.

"Answer my question first," I said with an evil innocence.

His gaze shot daggers at me. "If you must know, I only need them when I read," he said.

"Really?" I turned the specs over curiously, and then put them on my own face. "Hey, if someone with twenty-twenty vision puts on glasses, they can see what that person sees without them, right? I read that in some article somewhere..."

"Yes, that's true." His voice was as poisonous as the look on his face, both of which I ignored.

"I don't get it. Everything looks fine."

"I'm farsighted," he explained exasperatedly. "Only objects close to my eyes are blurry."

"Oh." I lifted my hand in front of my face and, sure enough, my fingers blurred together. "I get it now. That makes sense."

"How could it _not_ make sense?" he muttered.

"I HEARD THAT." I faked a look of deep offense, folded my arms, and turned my back to him.

He sighed. "May I have my glasses back now?"

"Hmm, naaaah." I uncrossed my arms and started to twirl around nonchalantly (just for the sake of irritating him, of course). "You know, I read this one article that said glasses actually make your eyes _weaker_. If you didn't wear them so—wh-whoa!" Suddenly, I felt a thick fog envelope my mind. I tripped mid-spin and toppled gracelessly over one of the pews. "Ow."

Seconds later, I felt Gill's body lean over me. "Are you okay?"

"I got woozy for a second..." I said, placing a hand on my forehead to clear my thoughts. His face was so close that it was nothing but a smear in my vision, but even so, I was able to make out his lips move slightly. My brain abruptly shut down with shock.

_...Is he going to kiss me?!_

He snatched the glasses from my face and I saw that the gesture had been a mere frown. I wanted to slap myself—where had _that_ thought come from?! "Idiot," he said, straightening up. "These aren't your prescription. Of course you'll get dizzy."

"Wearing glasses makes you dizzy?"

"You really don't know anything, do you?" he said dryly.

"I know _some—_wait, did you just call me an idiot?" I sat up and stared at him inquisitively.

"...So?" He obviously didn't understand my expression.

"The last time you called me that was when you lost your diary," I told him. He automatically flushed at the mention of the incident, but for once I decided to be nice to him and not press it. "But since you don't seem to be missing anything important this time, I'm going to assume you're doing what Craig does to me all the time."

"What Craig does?" he echoed, bewildered.

"He calls me a wimp when he wants to joke around," I said.

Gill scoffed and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Now you're just twisting what I say to your liking."

"That may be true, but," I said, standing up, "I'm willing to do anything to get you to go to this damn party."

"Oh, so we're still on _that_ subject...?"

"Yeah, we are. And when all else fails"—I grabbed his sleeve—"I'm gonna _drag_ you there, okay?"

"Angela—" he began, but I hadn't been kidding. I fastened my grip around his forearm and pulled with all my might. I managed a few steps before he dug his heels into the ground and wrestled his arm free. "_What_ do you think you're doing?"

"Come ooooooon!" I latched onto his other arm and continued to tug, but his stance was too rigid and I ended up slipping and landing hard on the ground. "Grrrr! You stubborn stick-in-the-mud!" I cried.

He eyed me incredulously for the longest time, and then finally offered a hand to help me up. "Fine, I'll go," he grumbled. "But only since you're so determined."

"Yay!" I took his hand and jumped energetically to my feet. "Then let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Hey, let go of—" he began, but then realized the uselessness of his words and allowed me to lead him. "Why do you want me to go so badly?" he asked instead. "I don't have anything in common with your friends."

"I beg to differ," I said. "Luke likes to read."

He gaped at me. "You're kidding."

"Yep," I giggled. "Didn't see that one coming, did you? But it's true. He's addicted to Monica Rex's books. He has a whole shelf full of them."

"I'm surprised he even knows _how_ to read," said Gill sourly.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about us," I said with a wink. "And I'm sure there are a lot of things we don't know about you, too."

Once again, he didn't have anything to say in response, so I changed the subject and talked about nothing until we reached my farm. The small crowd had grown since I left; everyone seemed to have gotten here—Luke, Kathy, Chase, Maya, Renee, Owen, Toby, Bo, Elli, and Anissa. The only one who had yet to arrive was Candace.

"Ta-da!" I said, letting go of his hand as soon as I was sure that he wasn't about to make a run for it. "What do you think?"

"I think that ten people are standing by your field doing nothing," he said. "Is this really what you found so important that you forced me to come all the way here?"

I stuck my tongue out, and then started to push him forward. "I'm back, everyone!" I announced. "And look who I brought!"

Everyone reacted simultaneously. Elli, who knew him the best for obvious reasons, waved cheerfully, while most just nodded. Luke, as expected, was the most enthusiastic: he hopped off the fence he'd been sitting on and ran over to clap Gill on the back (much to his surprise).

"So the guest of honor is finally here, fashionably late of course," he teased. "I think it's time we kick things into high gear!"

**XXX**

**Ugh, I am sooooo sorry about that hasty ending. There are two real events that happen during this scene, and I absolutely _could not_ think of any way to transition between them. So I just cheated and split up the chapters. Don't kill me! *dodges ninja stars***

**By the way, Monica Rex=Radioactive X-Naut. If anyone else wants to be mentioned, just tell me what you want your name to be and I'll incorporate you somehow! ^-^**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Drottningu: It's spelled REINS... no G.**

…

……

………

…………

***headdesk***

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Twelve

---

"You know, you're actually really _bad_ at this," commented Maya.

Gill folded his arms for the umpteenth time. "What do you expect?" he sneered. "I didn't want to play this childish game in the first place."

She twirled one of her braids around her finger, giggled, and nodded in my direction. "In that case, I guess it's a good thing that Angela can convince you to do anything she wants."

She quickly laughed, threw the ball back into play, and ran off with Chase before Gill could think of a comeback. He flushed helplessly and turned his face away from me.

"That wasn't an insult, you know," I giggled, poking his shoulder.

"I know."

"Then don't take it so personally."

He scowled. "Tell me, are all of your friends as blunt as you are?"

"Unfortunately for you, yep," I said with a shrug. "Now come on, let's get back to playing."

Believe it or not, some people at the party _weren't_ participating in the game, so it was nothing short of a miracle that I had gotten Gill to be one of the players. While we—or rather, mainly Luke and Kathy—were jumping around shouting "GOAL!" every five seconds, several others were busy listening to a constant stream of Isabelle Heart songs on my radio (which had mysteriously been relocated to my front porch about an hour ago).

Presently, the ball was in Maya's possession. Bo tried to steal it from her, but was cut off by Chase. Maya stopped to giggle and thank her boyfriend for such a _heroic_ act (that's just the way she is), resulting in having the ball swiped from under her feet by Kathy.

"Ooh!" Maya balled up her fists and chased after the laughing blonde.

"This way, Gill!" I directed, tugging his arm so he could join the fray.

"But—" I pushed him forward before he could finish. Kathy, catching my hint, passed the ball to him, but he immediately sent it flying in Bo's direction. "Happy now?" he said to me.

"Better, I guess." I rolled my eyes and guided him around some more.

Thanks to Gill's crappy passing skills (yes, I'm blaming it on him), the ball fell into enemy possession quickly. I hurried to square myself between Luke and the goal, but Luke was...well, he was Luke, so naturally he got it in anyway.

"DANG IT!" Kathy cried, stamping her foot furiously on the ground. "If Candy was here, she'd teach ya!"

"O-oh...I _am_ here!" called a soft voice.

By the time we finished turning in the direction of the sound, she had already appeared on the field and kicked the ball. It rocketed past Kathy and sailed through the other team's goalposts.

"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" cried Luke instantaneously.

"IT SO DOES!" Kathy fired back.

Candace giggled, enjoying her time to shine. She waved pleasantly at me before running after the ball to continue the game.

"Thank Goddess she's on our team this time!" I said happily. "You probably didn't know this, Gill, but she's _really_ good. Like, scary good." There was a short silence, and then, wondering why he wasn't answering, I turned to where he had been standing and saw that he was with Luna.

Oh.

…

Wait, what?

Cue double-take. What was _Luna _doing here?!

Indeed, Candace's pink-haired little sister was now standing ever-so-casually at the sidelines of the field. I saw Gill, who had just happened to be in the same area that Candace and Luna had presumably entered from, lean against the fence of my pasture.

"Hello," he said to her flatly.

"Hello," she responded, unsmiling.

I hesitated for a split second, and then shrugged it off. "Hey, Luna!" I greeted. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

She turned and automatically lit up. "Hi there," she said in her usual, almost unrealistically sweet tone. "I haven't seen you in a while, Angela."

"So, what do you say to some soccer?" I offered, gesturing to the playing field. "Your sister really likes it."

"In _this_ outfit?" She pinched her signature frilly dress and gave me an are-you-kidding look.

"You're right. Sorry for asking," I laughed. "You shouldn't worry, though. You wouldn't be the only one who isn't so, let's say, capable? Haha, isn't that right, Gill?"

Luna's smile faded as soon as his name left my mouth. It was so abrupt that I couldn't help noticing it, but I decided to ignore it nonetheless. "Isn't that _right_?" I repeated at Gill, louder. "...You know, I'm just teasing you."

He shrugged slightly. "Right."

Luna shifted her weight so that she was no longer in a stationary pose. "At any rate, I only came by to drop Candace off," she said, speaking directly at me. "I should leave now."

"Aw, that's too bad," I said. "Well, I'll be seeing you!"

"Bye-bye!" She grinned, waved, and skipped off in her classic lolita way. I waved back until she rounded the corner of the path and vanished from sight.

After that, I turned back to Gill. "So, should we get back to the game, then?"

He didn't seem to hear me at first, just stared into space. Finally, I cleared my throat loudly, and he jumped. He slowly shook his head. "...No, I don't think so. You have Candace now; the teams will be uneven."

I had a mini panic attack. "Th-that's fine!" I assured him quickly. "We're just playing for fun, after all."

"Calm down. I'll still be here," he said quietly. To prove it, he lifted himself onto the fence to sit down. "I'll just watch. Is that alright?"

Taken aback, I stared at him for a long time, feeling my face pinch with concern.

"What?"

I hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "Is there something—?"

"No."

I didn't know what to say to that. Anxious, I waited for several endless seconds for him to say more, but the conversation had evidently ended with that.

I went back to the game without him.

**XXX**

**Isabelle Heart=IHeartGil. (from UnoT). Everyone else, don't worry, I'm saving the other names for future scenes, where I may need them!**

**...And so once again, I cheat at transitions by ending the chapter. It's the end of the scene anyway, and my brain is totally dead right now. MATH HOMEWORK IS EVIL. ;~; See you next time!**


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**For some reason, a lot of people on UnoT misinterpreted that Gil/Luna scene, but most of the readers on FanFiction seemed to get it right. Huh. I guess it must've been more ambiguous than I intended, eh?**

**Anyway, sorry about the delay. When I grow up, I'll become a scientist so I can invent a drug that eliminates writer's block. D:**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Thirteen

---

Monday morning was clouded over and dreary, but that didn't stop us from gathering in the Praline Woods as soon as I was finished with my morning work. Luke had really taken a liking to that one tree; he refused to believe that a lone maple in a forest of pines was a normal, uninteresting occurrence.

Today was more like a conference, however. Once Luke had finished with his usual cartwheels, the mood accidentally slipped into seriousness.

"Angela, can you do me a favor?" Kathy said as she watched Luke do a handstand.

"What?" I replied. Wow, that boy was truly impressive.

"Next time you have a party, don't invite Gill, m'kay?"

Luke laughed at her little joke, causing him to fall forwards and do a faceplant in the dirt. Kathy and Candace both broke into giggle fits at his folly, expecting me to do the same. But my smile had vanished.

"Huh? What?" I said. "Why not?"

Kathy had assumed that I would casually agree with her, so the glance she shot me then was that of surprise. "Why do you think?" she chuckled. "He ruined pretty much everything yesterday."

The mirth was gone. "How so?" I said challengingly, placing my hands on my hips.

Luke came in to back her up. "All he did was whine, whine, whine the whole time," he pointed out. "That guy gave me a headache by the end of the day." He put his hands on his head and pretended to grimace, a pantomime that made Kathy laugh. As if it was funny.

"He wasn't _that_ bad," I defended.

"Of course, _you_ would say that," Luke teased.

My gaze shot daggers at him. "What do you mean, 'of course _I_ would say that?'"

"It's obvious you feel bad for him."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"Well, for one," Luke said, "you don't like him back."

My face turned crimson. "You still think that!?" I snapped. "We've been through this! He does _not—_"

"L-let's not get into a f-fight," Candace interrupted weakly.

Luke and Kathy giggled as I turned my red face away. "I still don't see why I shouldn't invite him again," I muttered.

"Because he's an ass," Kathy said bluntly.

I kicked her in the shin.

She yelped and shielded her legs from another attack by curling up. "What was that for?" she demanded, glaring at me.

"Am I the only one who remembers how nice he was last Saturday?" I pointed out. "Anyone can have a bad day. It's not fair to shut him out after just one little party." They both gave me dry looks, so I raked my mind for more excuses: "And...and... He was fun at the beginning, remember?"

Luke laughed as if that was a made-up word. "Fun? Did you just use that to describe _Gill_?"

"He was!" I argued. "He was playing soccer with us, right?"

"Yeah, but he sucked."

"Well at least he was trying!" I could feel my voice rising, but I didn't care. "Doesn't that count for anything? He was making a conscious effort until—" I cut myself off and hesitated as the realization came. "Until Luna came."

At the mention of her sister's name, Candace suddenly grimaced and dropped her gaze. Noticing this, I quickly faced her and said, "Is there something you know about this?"

She bit her lip nervously, and I instantly regretted my forwardness. Nevertheless, she answered me: "...Th-they...don't g-get along well..." she murmured.

"There! I knew it!" I turned back to Luke and Kathy. "It's not his fault! He was just in a bad mood because she came."

"That would make sense," Luke said, and he and Kathy snickered. I couldn't help feeling like they were sharing some sort of inside joke, but I decided not to probe.

"He's still a jerk, though," said Kathy. "Maybe it's not his fault he was in a 'bad mood,' but it _is _his fault for taking it out on us."

Stupid logic. "Ugh!" I threw my arms into the air in exasperation. "You'd think that we were a high school clique or something! What's wrong with just being friends with him?!"

"_You_ can be friends with him," Luke reasoned. "But you can't make _us_ like him, okay?"

I readied myself to yell at him, but stopped just in time. Instead, I took a deep breath, and calmly said, "How about this? Chase's birthday is in a week, right? If Gill doesn't 'ruin' that party, you have to at least give him a second chance."

They both thought about this for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Sure, if that means you'll stop screaming at us," Kathy agreed.

Luke smiled, stood up, and leaned in as if he was about to tell me a secret. "By the way, Ange," he said in a stage whisper. "If you want to get him in a 'good' mood to be on the safe side, why don't you try giving him a kiss?"

"_LUKE_!" I lunged at him furiously.

He cackled and dodged, then ran off at top speed to avoid my wrath.

"Wait for meeeeeee!" Kathy cried, dashing after him.

I was ready to follow when I suddenly felt thin fingers wrap around my wrist. I turned to face a fidgeting Candace.

"A-Angela?" she said softly.

"Yeah?"

"I..." Her voice trailed off and she looked at the ground. "N-no, n-never mind. It's not im-important."

I burned to ask her thousands of questions, but forced myself to settle for a quick sympathetic look. With that, we left the argument behind and ran after Luke and Kathy.

**XXX**

**As usual, I've given you some awful shortness. D8 Long chapters aren't exactly my forte.**

**Oh yeah, and still I have some scenes in mind for mentioning people who request. Ultra Drama Queen will either be in the next chapter or the one after it (depending on the order I decide to write certain scenes), and starcandii will appear after she tells me what she wants her name to be. *hint, hint* If anyone else wants to make an "appearance," just say the word! ^^**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

***sigh* That last chapter got some bad reviews... I'm not surprised. It wasn't exactly my best work. D: That's why I hurried to finish the next before I wind up with a body full of ninja stars.**

**She actually proves that she's a farmer in this one. Lol.**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Fourteen

----

The radio in my alarm clock woke me the next morning with the sound of a talk show host reviewing a recent Kyla Brunette book. I shook the grogginess out of my head and hit the sleep button. Outside, there was...rain.

"...Lovely," I muttered, resisting the urge to flop back down underneath the covers.

Once I finished with the in-house duties—showering, breakfast, etc.—I threw open my closet and began to dig around for something to wear in this horrible weather. Raincoat, raincoat, raincoat... WHY DIDN'T I HAVE A RAINCOAT?

...Oh, right.

With a heavy sigh, donned a fedora and ventured outside. The rain went straight to my bones as if I'd just walked outside without any skin. I tipped the brim of my hat over my face (uselessly) and retrieved the usual basket of tools that I had placed on my porch, and then continued towards my tiny field.

I had had three days to prepare for this. Three days! Ever since Monday, the sky had been murky with the constant threat of a storm, but instead of doing the smart thing and buying an umbrella, I had goofed off with my friends, as always. I wondered how long I would be doomed to miserably pulling weeds in the frigid rain before I finally realized the meaning of _preparation._

Several splatters of mud later, I finally made it to the barn. Despite the smell of wet wood, the structure was a paradise compared to the outdoors. Each of my livestock were stationed peacefully in their own separate stall. I shook the puddled water off of my hat and walked to the opposite wall, where my fodder was stored.

"G'morning, everybody!" I said as I carried a few lumps of hay into each separate feeding trough. Bessy was the only one to respond, and gave me a low moo of thanks as I fed her. Gretta and Missy didn't seem to notice.

By now, my animal chores were nothing if not routine. After just a few minutes I had finished and was holding a full bottle of milk from Bessy, which I presently divided into several smaller cups. The last time it had rained this hard was way back at the very beginning of the month, but that didn't mean that I had forgotten my usual task. Today, like always, I would bring milk to my friends.

I quickly did the math in my head. Today, work had given me six small bottles of milk. Last time I had visited Candace, Chase, Kathy, Toby, Maya, and Elli, which meant that this time I would have to deliver to Anissa, Luke, Renee, Owen, and Bo. That's five people. Six minus five is one.

...Gill.

Sure, why not?

I gathered the jars and donned the fedora once again to brace the weather. With the rain beating down on every inch of my un-raincoat-ed body, I trudged past my field and down the path to Waffle Town. If I visited Gill first, then afterwards I would go through Maple Lake District to reach Souffle Farm. Then I would go to Brownie Ranch, backtrack and go to the blacksmith's, and finally the carpentry shop.

By the time I had completed those thoughts, I found myself almost at Gill's front steps. I blinked, startled; I'd never realized that the distance was so short. After a second, I shrugged it off and jogged up the stairs to the front door.

Usually when I did this, I just opened the door and planted the jar right in the person's hands. But with Gill, it seemed strange to appear uninvited, so instead I knocked. The wind stole away the sound, so I did so a second time and waited.

Minutes later, I raised my hand to knock once again, but at that point the door swung open, revealing Mayor Hamilton.

"Oh, hello!" he said brightly. "I didn't expect to see you! What in the world brings you here in such horrible weather?"

Being over a head taller than this funny little man, I almost had to stoop to meet his eyes. "I'm just visiting for a few minutes," I told him. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, of course!" He stepped aside to let me pass and quickly shut the door behind me.

It wasn't until I was fully inside did I realize that this was the first time I'd ever been inside Gill's house. I looked around curiously, taking in the unfamiliar feeling of, well, unfamiliarity. Every other building I visited had become almost like a second home to me, but in comparison this house felt like a hotel. And to think that it was so close to my farm!

"Are you okay?" Hamilton piped up, noticing my face.

I laughed it off. "Oh, I'm fine," I said. "Do you know where Gill is?"

"He's been upstairs all day."

"Why am I not surprised?" I joked. "If he's working, I'm going to smack him."

Hamilton chuckled and pointed me in the direction of the staircase. With a nod, I brushed the excess rainwater off of my tunic and hurried up the steps.

The second floor was much like the first, with the same hardwood floors and oriental color scheme. I stopped at the top of the stairway and surveyed the area. "Helloooo?" I called in an indoor voice. "You up heeeeeere?"

"Angela?"

I turned around to see him coming from a doorway of a separate rooms. "Hi, there you are!" I greeted.

To my surprise, he frowned. "What are you doing here?" he said, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Huh?" I cocked my head to the side in confusion. This was not a reaction I was used to. "I just thought—"

"Ugh." He strode over and took my wrist. "Come with me. Now."

"Wha...?"

Before I had a chance to ask, he pulled me down the hall. At the end, he let go of my arm and opened a closet door, from which he took a bath towel and tossed it at my face. "Get yourself cleaned up."

"For now, I'll ignore the fact that you're being _incredibly rude_," I grumbled. I dried off my face obediently, only to look up and see that he was glaring at me. "WHAT?"

He sighed exasperatedly. "Honestly. You can be such an idiot sometimes."

"Oh, so you're upset." It didn't take a genius to decode his usage of the word _idiot_. "Care to tell me why?"

He flinched, realizing how transparent he was. No use beating around the bush anymore. "What the hell goes through your mind to make you think it's a good idea to be outside in this weather?" he asked coolly.

I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing.

"Ah...? H-hey!" he stammered, taken aback. "What's so funny?"

"Hahahaha! I didn't see that coming!" I giggled.

"Didn't see what coming?"

"You think I can't tell? You're actually _worried_ about me, of course! Hahaha!"

"I—no!" His cheeks caught fire. "It's just a stupid thing to do! Common sense!"

"Yeah, suuuuure." I grinned broadly. "Believe it or not, I'm not as _idiotic _as I look, Your Highness. Hehehe!"

He grimaced. "'Your Highness?'"

"With an attitude like yours, don't be surprised if that nickname sticks," I teased. With one last laugh, I finally calmed down and opened up my bag. "Anyway, the reason I'm here is to give this to you."

His face went blank as I handed him the jar.

"Oh, you don't know this, but whenever it rains I go around and give some milk to my friends. Just a stop-by-say-hi type of thing to cheer them up when it rains, you know? This time I decided—"

"You _must _be kidding," he growled.

"Huh?"

"Did you really come all the way here to give me a _glass of milk_?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"..._Idiot_," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why, thank you," I said. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to finish my errands."

I counted. Two whole steps before he caught my wrist again. "You're not seriously thinking about going out again, are you?" he demanded.

I smiled oh-so innocently. "Of course. What else would an idiot do?" Dang, I really liked using that word against him.

"You'll get sick."

"I've never gotten sick because of this before," I pointed out. "And besides. What do you want me to do? Just stay here and wait out the storm?"

"That would be a better idea than going out in it," he said.

"Okay, I'll stay, then," I said, "on one condition: You admit that you're worried about me."

"I am _not_," he protested automatically.

I shrugged. "In that case, you won't mind if I—"

His grip tightened around my wrist. I stopped mid-step and turned to smile at him expectantly. After several long seconds, he averted his gaze and muttered, "Fine. I'm worried about you."

"Hahahaha!" I clapped my hands together in triumph. "How sweet! Who knew that His Highness actually has a heart?"

He clicked his tongue. "Don't call me that. Ever."

"I'm surprised you don't take it as a compliment," I lied.

With a sigh, he released my hand. "Just dry yourself off already," he said exasperatedly. "You're a complete mess."

--

I was bored after the first three minutes.

Of course, the power lines just _had_ to be knocked out. There was no television, no computer, and no phone service. The only reason the house was lit was because of a backup source somewhere in the house (these people were freaking rich, after all). The only thing I had to do was lie on the couch and blow air into my cheeks. For the first time in a while, I remembered with painful accuracy the real reason behind my milk deliveries.

Gill had a book. I hated him for that.

"Can I have a book too?"

"The shelf is over there." Without looking up, he pointed at the far wall.

"Uh-huh." I walked over and skimmed my choices. There were novels by people like Sandra Onley, Roxanne Sweet, and Kira Star—all good writers, and yet...

"Where's the manga?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Don't you have any manga?" I repeated.

"...Comic books?" he said dryly.

"They're not comic books!" I stamped my foot.

My reaction was enough to make him chuckle. "No, we don't have any manga."

"Arrrrg." I sagged against the bookcase. "I'm gonna diiiiiie of boredom here."

"Try reading a real book," he suggested condescendingly.

I opened my mouth to fire a comeback, but stopped right in the middle of the first syllable. Instead, I straightened up again and said, "Teach me how to draw."

It took him a second to register what I had said. "How to draw?" he echoed incredulously.

"Yeah!" I clasped my hands together in a pleading gesture. "Please, please, please?" I said. "Okay, if you don't want to teach me you don't have to. Just let me watch you. Please, please, pleeeease?"

"I don't...draw," said Gill, still a little bit in shock.

"Don't do that. You're lying straight to my face," I said seriously. "I saw that picture of that tree before. You're amazing! Really! I'm begging you. Please show me what else you can do."

He stared at me. "Why are you so convinced that I'm such an artist?" he said. "I just drew some random lines on my paper one day. So what?"

"Random lines!" I repeated. "If those were 'random lines', you must be Michaelangelo when you're actually trying!"

"I don't...try."

"Come oooon, Gill," I whined. "It's just something to cure my boredom. You'll never have to do it again. Just this once. I wanna see!"

He scowled and ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously. "Why won't you just take no for an answer...?"

"No way!" To prove it, I darted into the other room—Hamilton's office, I presume. I stole a sheet of paper from the printer and a pencil from the desk, and then returned to drop them both on Gill's lap.

"Angela..."

"It's just a quick sketch. Please."

He hesitated, and then finally let out a sigh. "Alright. Just one."

"YES!" I beamed and sat down beside him.

Slowly, he closed his book and used it as a hardcover beneath the paper. "...I don't know what to draw," he said, a final attempt to prevent it.

"How about..." I pondered for a moment. "Well, what are you good at?"

"I'm not—"

"Never mind," I cut him off before he could make yet another pessimistic comment. "Why don't you draw...a...windmill? Like the one at Brownie Ranch."

"Whatever." Reluctantly, he picked up the pencil and began to sketch...but my gaze was only on the paper for a split second before I caught sight of his face.

To my amazement, his scowl had vanished in the last moment, replaced by something unreadable. Light blond hair framed a look of concentration as blue eyes watched each stroke intently. The features that I knew so well were suddenly alien, and, in that moment, he became a different person entirely; he became an artist.

I wondered why this was the first time I'd noticed how handsome he was.

"There," he said, jolting me out of my reverie. "Finished."

I quickly looked back at the paper and saw that he was, indeed, finished with the composition. Holy cow! I couldn't help but let out a sharp gasp when I saw the detail, the shape, the way everything was so unbelievably _perfect_...

"That's...that's awesome!" I cried. "I wish _I_ could draw like that!"

"It's not that great..."

"Yes, yes, it is!" I insisted. How could he possibly say that it wasn't that great?!

"You can keep it," he muttered.

My jaw dropped. "Really?!"

"Er...Yeah." He obviously thought I was taking this way too seriously.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I said gleefully.

"Whatever makes you happy."

"Whatever makes me happy?"

"...Please don't get any ideas."

I pouted.

He didn't look me in the eye. Instead, he seemed incredibly interested in twirling the pencil around in his fingers. But after a few seconds of being stared at, he finally stopped. "Alright, _maybe_ I could teach you sometime," he murmured finally.

I threw my arms around him.

In an instant, he became as rigid as a board. "A-Angela?"

"Thank you!" I laughed. "You really are a good friend, you know!"

He was silent for a moment. "...Friend?"

I pulled back to meet his eyes. "You can be one of my best friends if you want," I said with a wink.

Again, he didn't know what to say. I waited patiently until, finally, he smiled.

"I'd like that," he said softly.

Then my smile abruptly faded and I jumped to my feet. "Aw, crap! That must've been the worst timing ever! I'm so stupid sometimes!" I smacked myself in the forehead.

"Hm?"

"Calling you a friend right after you've agreed to do something for me," I said. "Jeez, how shallow was that?! You know that I actually meant it, though, right?"

He chuckled. "Yes, I know."

"Phew." I relaxed.

"By the way, Angela..."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"What, for melting Your Highness's icy heart?" I teased.

He frowned suddenly. "No. I was going to say 'For not calling me _Your Highness_ again.'"

**XXX**

**Congratulations, you've just finished reading a seven-page-long space filler! *****body full of ninja stars* ****...Crap.**

**By the way...**

**Kyla Brunette=Ultra Drama Queen**

**Sandra Onley=The Only Sane One**

**Roxanne Sweet=MissSweetAsian**

**Kira Star=starcandii**

**Am I forgetting anyone?**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

***pushes the red alert button* HELP! HELLLP! I just read the last chapter and saw how horribly chopped-up it was (especially the "He became an artist" paragraph...BLARG)! Someone pleeeeeease give me some advice with transitions! x_o Please please please please please??? Concrit is _always_ welcomed with open arms.**

***deep breath* Okaaaay. Now that that's done with...**

**Ultra Drama Queen: ... by they way, what was the name of the recent Kyla Brunette book?**

**...Uh... *quickly checks your profile* It was..._Village Tales: Stories From the Heart_! *brick'd* Sorry, I was thinking in terms of names, not stories. xP You just called me on my bluff.**

**Blubber Nuggets: Have I ever actually reviewed this? I mean, I've been reading it for the longest time...but I don't quite remember responding...mhm...**

**You hid in my pants. xD**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Fifteen

---

"...I probably should have told him then."

I was lying down amongst my crops, thinking about how screwed I was. For the entire six and a half hours I had spent with Gill on that rainy day, not once had it crossed my mind to tell him about Chase's party. After that I had been kidnapped by Maya and Elli for the next few days so I could help them with the preparations. And now, on the day of the party, Gill was still totally in the dark.

To put it lightly, I was doomed.

I thumped myself in the forehead. ARG! What was I supposed to say to him _now_?! Unless I managed to pull another miracle out of my pocket like with the Goat Party, there was no way I would be able to convince him on such short notice.

"I'm a very fascinating breed of stupid, aren't I?" I muttered aloud, and then sat up.

I fiddled with my hair, brushed the dirt of my clothes, stared up at the clouds—trying to think of a plan, yet never quite getting there. Instead, I came up with another word to describe myself.

Dead?

Sure, dead works.

--

Ten o'clock came by far too quickly. With a deep breath, I fixed my face into a determined frown and marched over to the town hall.

The building seemed empty. A couple of interns I didn't know were buzzing around as per usual, but the lack of any familiar faces was almost eerie. I realized that this was because Elli was no longer stationed at the front desk; she must've already left for the party. Which meant I was on my own.

Joy.

With a grimace, I meandered my way through the lobby and into some of the back rooms. There, I found the door to Gill's office. I took yet another deep breath, smiled, and opened it. "Hi!" I said brightly.

Startled, Gill jumped at my sudden presence and dropped a folder that he'd been carrying, spilling several papers onto the ground. "Angela?" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." I wasn't ready to delve into that quite yet. I pointed at the mess. "Need any help with that?"

"No." In a matter of seconds, he'd picked them all up by himself. He looked up at me. "Why are you here?" he repeated.

I shrugged. "Can't I just come visit my friend?" I said.

"Not while he's working."

"Okay...then...why don't you take the day off?"

"My day off was yesterday."

Crap. "Welllll...why not another one?" I suggested sheepishly.

"Why, is there something going on today?"

Double-crap. "Maaaaybe..." I said.

"No."

"Uggggh." I clasped my hands together pleadingly. "Come on. Please? I'd really appreciate it!"

He leaned against his desk, staring me down. "Is this another spur-of-the moment party, Angela?"

"It's not spur-of-the moment," I said, my voice a little on the quiet side. "I just...forgot to tell you beforehand..."

"Well, you should have."

"But I'm telling you now!" I said. "Can you come?"

"No, I can't," Gill said flatly.

"Please?" My confidence was slowly sinking.

"No."

"Just this once?" I begged.

"That was last time."

"Uh..." I paused for a second. "Just this...twice?"

"Angela..." He sighed as if he was talking to a stubborn child.

I pouted. Why was it that the agreeable Gill always mysteriously vanished right when I needed him most? "Come on," I pressed on. "Why not?"

"I told you why," he said exasperatedly. "I have work to do today."

_Again with the work._

That was when I snapped. "'Work'!" I practically shrieked, throwing my arms in the air.

The sudden rise of my voice caught him off guard. He straightened up uneasily.

"Why do you _always_ say that?!" I cried furiously. "What could possibly be so important that you hardly ever spend time with your _friends_?!"

"L-local matters," he answered, taken aback. "Shipments. Maintenance. Paperwork. _Someone _has to do it."

"You have, like, _fifty million_ interns here!" I snapped. "Make one of _them_ do it!"

"They have their _own_ jobs to do," said Gill, keeping his voice level to contrast me.

"And working yourself to the bone isn't _your_ job!" I fired back.

"Listen closely," he said coolly. "Half of the island depends on me—including you. Do you honestly think that you can magically trade in those crops of yours for money? I have to make sure that they get to reliable buyers for you. Can't you see how important it is for me not to slack off?"

I opened my mouth to argue more, but, at this point, there was nothing I could say. I couldn't question my own income, and he knew that. Defeated, I looked down, blinking back angry tears. "Fine," I said. "Just fine. Have it your way, then. Sorry I asked."

Without waiting for him to reply, I turned on my heels and slammed the door shut behind me.

The walk between the town hall and Sundae Inn wasn't long enough, so I stopped at the end of the stone steps and sat down. I could hear laughter coming from the inn, making me want to throw a brick through the window. With a sigh, I laid back and stared at the clouds.

"Angiiiiie, what're you doing outside?"

Peace and quiet, where art thou?

I sat up and forced a grin. "Hey, Luke!" I said with a wave.

Luke smiled broadly. "You're late, Ange," he commented. "That's not like you. Let me guess..." I saw his eyes flit around me as if to be certain that I was alone. "You tried and failed?"

Grrr. "Yeah, yeah," I muttered, folding my arms. "Rub it in, why don't you."

"So I'm betting you didn't take my advice and kiss him?"

"...No."

He laughed as if I'd said something incredibly funny, which earned him one of my best glowers. "Well, aren't you gonna come in?" he said, changing the subject. "The show must go on!"

With yet another sigh, I stood up and followed him inside.

It looked like I was the last to arrive. Several of the guests were bunched together around a table, watching Owen perform some sort of dice trick, and Maya was hovering intently over Chase as he fetched something from a cupboard in the kitchen (what a surprise).

"What did I miss?" I asked no one in particular.

Kathy was the one to respond. "Check it out," she said. "Watch what Owen can do!"

Upon hearing his name, he looked up and grinned. "Give me two numbers," he challenged.

"Uh...three and six."

He nodded, picked up the dice, and rolled one three and one six. The onlookers gave a brief applause.

"Oh, that trick?" I said, leaning in. "I've seen that before."

He chuckled haughtily. "Then let's see you do it," he teased, and tossed me the two dice.

"Fine. Choose the numbers."

"One and five."

"Not challenging." I turned the dice over in my hand for a split second, and then set them free on the table.

I rolled a two and a six.

"...Urg." The small crowd giggled in unison as I scowled.

"Don't worry, Ange," Owen said as he picked up the dice again. "I'm sure, in some way, that was Luke's fault."

"Hey!" Luke snapped.

Again, we all laughed.

...That's it. Fade to black. End of scene. Happy ending. Why couldn't I settle with that?

--

Some hours later, Maya flew through the door with her arms flailing like windmills with excitement. "Everyone, guess what?" she cried. "Lunch'll be ready in ten minutes!"

From behind her, we saw Chase's hand clamp down on her shoulder. "What she said," he muttered before dragging her back to the kitchen in order to silence her.

"Classic," I said with a giggle.

Luke, who was sitting on the table I was beside, slid over to talk to me. "But is it enough to make you forget how upset you are?" he asked.

I cringed and shot him a dark, sideways glare. "If that was supposed to cheer me up, then there is no such thing as a poorer choice of words and timing, Luke."

"I'm trying to get you to _admit your feelings_," he said in a dramatic voice. He rested his chin in his folded hands the way, I assume, that he pictured a therapist would.

"Ugh." I knew what this meant. Luke wouldn't take no for an answer, so it was best to just get it over with. "You were right, I was wrong, and you won," I said through gritted teeth. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"I was right about what?" I could see him fighting back a smile.

I repeat: Get it over with. I clenched my fists and blurted out, "About Gill, alright?! You were right about him. I couldn't get him to come. It's obvious he doesn't like us at all. He's—" My voice caught, and I hesitated, struggling for the right words. "He's... He's such an _antisocial jerk_!"

Luke burst out laughing, so hard that he fell backwards on the table he was perched on. "You...are...priceless...Ange..." he gasped in between chortles. "Don't...you...dare...get...any...less..._easy_!"

"Easy?" I echoed in confusion.

All of a sudden, I felt something cold splash over my head. Startled, I let out a small yelp and stiffened up, hands leaping to my now-wet hair. "Wha...?!" I whirled around.

Gill casually twirled an empty plastic cup in his fingers. "Sometimes I wonder what you hear when I speak, Angela."

For the longest moment I was dumbfounded, unable to say a word. I simply stood there, with one hand still resting on my punch-soaked head, until I realized that Luke's laughter was presently the closest thing resembling dialogue in the room. So it was under the eyes of every guest there that I jumped back and shrieked, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"You were the one who invited me."

"B-but...what about your...?"

"Work?" he finished. He placed the cup on the table. "I finished it. And now I've come, just like you asked. Is that so hard to understand?"

"But you said—"

"I said that I _couldn't_, and that was the truth at the moment," said Gill. "But, tell me, did I ever say that I _wouldn't_?"

I couldn't think of a response, so Luke oh-so generously filled in the silence by forcing himself into a sitting position and laughing, "You. So. _Lost it_, Ange! AH-HAHAHAHA!"

Right then, I wanted nothing more than to teleport back to my farm and hide for the next few years.

Thankfully, the Goddess must have been on my side, because at that point, although I didn't do any teleporting, Maya did come out and declare, "Lunch is ready! And it looks sooooo good! Come on!", which abruptly averted everyone's attention.

Although no one was looking at me any longer, the humiliation did not leave. I folded my arms tightly and looked at the ground, utterly defeated. And I would have stayed there moping for the rest of the day if, at that point, I had not felt a hand brush my cheek.

I looked up to see that Gill's face had softened. "You didn't honestly think that I would let you down, did you?" he said.

And just like that, it all vanished. "Well, you did pour juice on my head," I pointed out with a genuine grin.

He chuckled. "You know you deserved that."

I laughed along and nodded.

I think that was the moment I fell in love with him.

**XXX**

**Yeah, it certainly took you long enough, O Great Protagonist of a GillxAngela fic. xD**

**Anyway, I know it's been a while since—*eyes wander over to the "last updated" date—OH SHI... HAS IT REALLY BEEN A MONTH SINCE THE LAST CHAPTER?! I am so. So. So. So. Sooooooo sorry! T^T I swear I'll try doubly hard to get the next chapter up ASAP!**

**Sorry!**

**Sorry!**

**Sorry!**

**  
Sorry!**

**D:**

…

**Sorry!**


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**QWREGARJKDGFDKJGKJDFVNKSJOAWEQGRFGBJKDFJKSZAJWOERGHARF**

**I have no excuse. I just fail at updating. *cries in a corner***

**Anyway...**

**Miss Psychic Lady: the dialogue can be a little hard to follow. I guess some things just make sense to you because you know your characters better than the readers do. we can't interpret it quite as easily as you may think.**

**OMG! OMG! OMG! I FINALLY GOT SOME CONCRIT! YES!**

***cough* So, yeah. First of all, thank you _so_ much (obviously), and second of all, any suggestions? I guess I could try to stop elongating the words so much (bad habit. Dx)... Does that sound good?**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

---

Chapter Sixteen

---

_Slash!_

Down went one breadfruit stalk.

_Slash!_

And another.

_Snit._

Oh, crap, that was my hand.

I dropped the scythe and pressed my palm against my leg to stop the bleeding. Nicks like this weren't uncommon when I was working, especially if my mind wandered. And today it was going on a full-blown expedition.

"I should probably get my work gloves," I said aloud. "To prevent another cut."

...Now that I thought of it, that's probably something he would say. He was the type to call me out on it whenever I pointed out the obvious. ...NO! I slapped myself. Farm work comes first. It's my job. I needed to focus on that. Farm work, farm work, farm work. I took a step towards my house.

"Something wrong, Angie?"

"WAH!" My foot caught on the fallen sickle and I did a faceplant in the dirt. So much for farm work.

When I looked up, I was staring at a pair of green eyes. "Very graceful."

"That was your fault, Kathy."

"In what way?" she said defensively.

"In a way. Somehow. It was your fault."

She laughed and offered me a hand, which I took. "So," said Kathy once I was on my feet, "what is it about gloves that makes you slap yourself?"

"If you didn't have freaky deus-ex-machina-timing, you wouldn't have had to ask," I said.

"You didn't use deus ex machina in the right context," she told me. "Actually, that sentence didn't even make sense."

"Oh, whatever."

"So are you going to answer the question?"

…Dang. I frowned. "You really wanna know?" I said. "I'm mad at myself for not paying attention because I'm thinking about Gill instead."

She stared at me. "...What?"

"I have a crush on him."

A longer stare. "Did you seriously just tell me?" she asked. "No arguing for ten minutes even though it's glaringly obvious that you're hiding something?"

"No."

"Holy cow, you really are in love."

I looked away. "Fine, now that you have your answer, can you, maybe, give me some time to think?"

Of course, my suggestion was futile. As expected, she broke into a huge grin. "That's so _cute_!" she cried, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. "I mean, I think we all saw this coming, but still! You'd be absolutely _adorable_ together!"

I felt my face get hot on cue. "Okay, okay."

"Come on!" she went on, grabbing my arm. "We have to tell Candace! And Owen! And Renee! And—"

"That's way too many people!" I cut her off.

She pouted. "Fine, then how 'bout we just call Luke? Please? Where's your phone?"

"If Luke knows, the whole island will know," I muttered.

"...I think the whole island already does know."

"Kathy!"

"You know I'm just teasing," she giggled with a wink.

"Yeah, but I'm beginning to have my doubts," I said, rolling my eyes as she dragged me inside.

Finally, she let go and ran straight to my room, looking for the telephone that was, for some reason or another, very seldom used (what a waste of 900G). I did a quick prayer to the Goddess that it would stay that way.

"Whoo! It's ringing!" Kathy announced.

O Goddess, why must you torment me? I sighed and sat down on my bed.

"Do you have speaker phone on this?" she asked.

"It's just an old rotary," I said. "So no."

"Darn it." She sat down beside me and twirled the cord around her finger. "That's gonna make things hard. I don't like repeating what—Hello? Luke? Hi! It's Kathy."

I crossed my legs and waited for the bomb to drop. Three, two, one...

"Guess what? Angie fell for Gill!"

"_WHAT_?! REALLY? FINALLY! _AHAHAHA_!"

Boom. Hence the bomb metaphor. "Well, that solves your speaker phone problem," I said. "...Wait, what does he mean 'finally'?!"

Kathy waved her hand dismissively and continued talking. I sort of zoned out, not wanting to listen to what was almost certain to be constant teasing. This tactic failed when I felt Kathy poking my leg to get my attention.

"What?"

"She is alive!" Kathy said, feigning shock. Then she smiled again. "Luke wants to know when you're going to ask him out. Gill, I mean."

…

"Uh."

"Uh," she repeated. "You're too chicken, aren't you?"

"A chicken is a bird that escapes from Renee's farm and ends up almost being strangled by Luke," I said, frowning. "I'm...just...nervous."

"I knew you were gonna say that!" Luke's voice chimed from the receiver. "Called it! I called it! Hahaha!"

"Which one?" Kathy asked. "Saying no, or referring to you?"

"Both."

"Moving on," I said firmly. "I was planning to wait until the Fireworks Festival this summer."

"Why?" said Kathy. "That's so far off. Over a week."

"Well." I looked down at my hands. "Sometimes people go to that festival as...you know...just friends. It's just in case."

Kathy made a face that was almost a glare. "You mean you're going to cover it up as just hanging out? Where's the risk? Where's the bravery?!"

"I—"

"That's not how you do things, Angie," she went on. "You have to tell him how you feel!"

"But what if—"

"What if he doesn't like you back?" Kathy finished, raising an eyebrow.

Luke answered this. "No way, Ange. I already told you that he's head over heels for you. What's with the hesitation?"

"I know you told me," I said. "That's why I'm afraid." Kathy opened her mouth to argue, so I quickly added, "Luke's always explained things before. But this time, he couldn't say _why_ Gill liked me."

Luke and Kathy were both silent for a long time. Evidently, neither of them was used to hearing a sound argument from me. Finally, I heard Luke's voice mutter, "It's not my fault."

I decided to choose my words carefully. "I'm not saying it is. I'm saying it's my fault for being too scared to go forward without proof." I probably shouldn't have opened a window for them like that, but Luke always took it personally when it came to people's reactions to his gossip.

As expected, I could almost see the cogs start to turn in Kathy's mind. She smiled and said, "If Luke can find out the reason, then will you ask Gill out?"

"I...I guess," I said. Apparently, my cheeks were highly flammable.

I imagined that Luke was grinning just as broadly as Kathy was. "I'M ON IT!" he cried, right before a click and a dial tone. Now that's what I called prioritizing.

I sighed and habitually pulled at a lock of my hair. "Kathy...correct me if I'm wrong, but...it seems like this whole thing is just one accident after the next."

She shrugged. "Doesn't mean it's not a success," she said as she dropped the phone back in its cradle.

XXX

**Lalala, uploading the next chapter now...**


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Did you just click the little arrow thingy next to the title? Well, I have news for you: in order to make up for that ungodly wait, I uploaded two chapters at once.**

**If you've already read chapter sixteen, then I hope you enjoy seventeen now!**

XXX

All's Fair in Love and Lies

XXX

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Chapter Seventeen

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Luckily, this time, I managed to finish my work before I was ambushed. I was sitting on a nearby bench, thinking about which crops I should plant next, when Luke entered the scene. Or catapulted into it. Whichever you prefer.

He slammed his hands on the back of the bench, causing me to jump almost a foot into the air. "I did it!" he cried. "I did it, Ange!"

"Did what?" I said, making sure that my heart hadn't exploded from the shock.

"I found out why Gill likes you, of course," he said. A broad grin stretched across his face.

For the first second I didn't register it. The second, my face burst into red. At last in the third, I snapped, "Don't say it so loud! Ugh!"

"Don't worry," he said. "You're not going to have to keep it a secret for much longer."

"Answer me this, though," I said with narrowed eyes. "Did you already know?"

"Huh? No. I would've told you."

"Then how did you find out so quick?" I asked. "Kathy called you two hours ago." He opened his mouth to speak, but at the last moment I cut him off. "Forget it. Never mind. I don't think I want to know, do I?"

"Oh, it's nothing bad," he said, shrugging. He casually jumped over the back of the bench to sit down. "I bumped into Julius about an hour ago, and he apparently saw what happened."

I cocked my head to the side. "Who's Julius?"

"Julius?" Luke said, giving me a look like he was surprised that I didn't know. "He works at the blacksmith. I thought you met him before."

"No, I don't think so," I said, shaking my head. "What does he look like?"

"Purple hair, red eyes, dresses like a chick..."

I was silent. The description sounded familiar...

At this, he blinked as if something had just occurred to him. Then he burst out laughing. "YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT HE WAS A WOMAN, DIDN'T YOU?".

"_What_?!"

"Nothing, nothing, nothing," he said quickly. "I can't believe you—"

"Wait," I interrupted. "You mean Julie..."

"I won't tell him," said Luke. "Don't worry."

I slapped my hand onto my face. "Well, _anyway_," I said loudly. "What is it that you came here to tell me?"

"Oh yeah." He suppressed a chuckle. My first instinct was that he was still laughing about my mistake, but before I could accuse him, he said, "Honestly, it's shocking that you don't remember. You were the one who did it."

"Did wha..." Before I could finish the sentence, I felt my face grow pale.

So it was _that_.

I stayed silent for a few seconds, and then cleared my throat. "So, Juli...us...saw that, you say?"

"Yup."

"Great." I sighed. "I just...I thought that Gill forgot..."

Luke grinned yet again. "Well, he didn't."

-o-

_It was clear that I still had a lot to learn about farming. Two weeks into summer, and suddenly all of my crops—which had stopped producing anything of value anyway—suddenly shriveled up in the heat. Candace had had to tell me that spring crops couldn't survive in this season (which was totally not obvious at all, by the way) and that I should get better seeds from Anissa. So here I was, at the Ganache Mine District, I almost bumping into someone as I rounded a corner._

"_Sorry!" I said, quickly stumbling back a little. "...Wait, I know you. Aren't you the mayor's son?"_

_The boy—I think his name was Gill—glanced up from his omnipresent clipboard to see who was speaking. "Yes, and you're the new girl who dropped my paperwork all over the Square."_

_I frowned at his description of me. First impressions weren't exactly my best friend. "Anyway," I said, "I have to head over to Anissa's. Bye."_

"_Good luck."_

_I stopped. "'Good luck'?"_

"_You're going to need it to get in on the day it's closed," he said without looking up from his work. "Also, you're going the wrong way."_

"_...Oh."_

_I waited for him to suggest an alternative, but he continued to write away on his clipboard. I wondered briefly why he went to all the trouble of coming out here when all he was going to do was more paperwork._

_I decided to stop waiting and just ask. "Is there anywhere else I can get some seeds for my farm?"_

"_You could call Taylor," he said, somehow managing to make his suggestion sound very unhelpful. "But he's studying in the Forget-Me-Not Valley at the moment, so the delivery could take a few days. It's easier to just wait until tomorrow for the Souffle Farm to open again."_

"_Hmm." I folded my arms, trying to think. Even though it was just one day, I didn't want to wait at all when I had already wasted so much time. That was one more day's worth of smirking from Craig when I showed up at his store, asking for something I should have two weeks ago._

_Gill scribbled some more, either unknowing or uncaring to the fact that I wanted another suggestion._

_That was when I remembered something that Luke had mentioned. "Hey, doesn't your family have a garden?"_

_He stopped writing abruptly. "We do."_

"_Do you think you could lend me some seeds?" I asked hopefully. "I promise I'll pay you back. Please?"_

"_I don't have any," he said, still not looking at me._

_I blinked. "What? Why not?"_

"_It's not my... It's my mother's garden."_

"_Oh, okay," I said. Come to think of it, I hadn't met his mother yet. "Could you ask her, then? Or maybe you could just tell me where she is right now so I could—"_

"_She's dead."_

_With that, we both fell into silence._

"_She's...?"_

"_Dead." He neither looked up nor continued writing._

_Slowly, I uncrossed my arms. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't..."_

_He didn't say anything._

_For the next long minutes, I didn't even know what I was thinking. I simply stared at him, not knowing what to say but not wanting to just walk away. Finally, after probably getting fed up with feeling my eyes on him, he looked up and scowled. "What?"_

"_Nothing." I realized that my eyes had begun to sting, so I quickly turned away, hoping he hadn't seen. It was a little ironic, me being the one blinking back tears instead of him._

"What_?" he repeated._

"_Nothing."_

_He narrowed his eyes angrily, but retreated back to his paperwork._

_This would have been the best time to leave. In fact, I really, really needed to leave. But my legs wouldn't move at all, as if they were telling me to say _something_. But what could I say?_

_Gill sighed exasperatedly and looked up again. "Is there something you—"_

_Without thinking, I put my hands on his shoulders and kissed him._

_He stiffened instantly and dropped his clipboard, almost as shocked as I was. But I didn't pull away. I wrapped my arms around his neck, tightening the bond. Several seconds passed before, suddenly, I felt his hands on my waist, and he was kissing me back._

_I don't know how long we stayed like that before we broke apart, but it was no surprise that we both fell once again into an awkward silence. I looked down at my hands, trying to think of something to say._

"_Angela..." he said softly. "Why...?"_

"_I'm sorry about your mother!" I blurted out, and then ran._

**XXX**

**And thus, another wait for the next chapter begins... *dodges ninja stars***


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